


Winter

by Luckybear2815



Category: Fringe, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-23 03:18:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4861022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luckybear2815/pseuds/Luckybear2815
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winter was raised by Hydra. As a child she was one of their experiments, but once she showed signs of special abilities, they began to train her. Her mission? Infultrate S.H.I.E.L.D. Will she be able to pull it off? Will she be able to betray her newfound friends?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So this is my first fanfic, please be patient with me. I love the Avengers (Mostly Loki) and have been wanting to write this story for a long time. None of the characters are mine (Except Winter). If there are any spelling or grammar mistakes please let me know! I hope you like it! :)

Her eyes were open, staring blankly into the darkness. Her senses were on high alert, and although she couldn't see, she was overwhelmed. The stiff concrete floor was cold and unrelenting, offering her no comfort. Her nose was flooded with the smell of rot, which was consistent throughout the whole building, no matter where she slept. She could hear the traffic in the distance, and the scuttling of roaches across the warehouse. These weren't ideal accommodations, but they fit the part. A scared teenager with abilities she couldn’t control; this is exactly where someone like that would hide.  
A car door slammed outside, and she stiffened, slowly rising to her feet. This was it, it had to be. She had followed the instructions given to her; having little "accidents" here and there, small displays of her abilities leading S.H.I.E.L.D. back to this very warehouse. She had been told they would find her, she had just thought it would take longer. As quietly as she could, she crept across to the far side of the warehouse, as far from the door as possible. She hid behind a wooden crate, and waited, letting her fear take over. A few moments later the warehouse was filled with beams of light, and she gasped. She knew they had heard her, that had been the point, but her heart pounded anyways. Be scared, show your fear, she chanted in her head. She squeezed her eyes shut as the footfalls approached. There was whispering, then an unmistakable click, the safety of a gun being disengaged. Her breathing sped up.  
When a shadow fell over her face, she slowly opened her eyes, looking up. She saw the silhouette of a man. He was tall and intimidating, but she could overpower him if she needed to. Instead she whimpered, and squeezed her eyes shut again, shrinking as far back into the corner as she could. "Hey don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you." He said, but she kept her eyes shut. He kneeled down next to her, and rested a hand on her shoulder, but she shrunk away, curling into herself before slowly opening her eyes. She could see him better now, and she vaguely recognized his features. He was older, mid forties probably, and had dark brown hair, his hairline receding. He had a kind but stern face, and was looking at her sympathetically. "Will you come with me? I want to help you." He asked, and she waited a moment before giving a shaky nod. He smiled and helped her up. She looked around, seeing three other men armed, probably in case she had decided to fight her way out. Not that it would have stopped me.  
"My name is Phil, what's yours?" He asked. She hesitated, trying to decide wether or not to use her real name. How much harm could it do? "Winter." She said, finally. He looked at her and smiled warmly, "Well Winter, I'm going to take you someplace safe." She smiled in response. I know who you are Phil, and I'm not the one who needs protecting.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Four years later....

Winter awoke, startled by a loud noise. Her heartbeat slowed down as she realized it was her wretched alarm clock. Groaning, she flung her arm at it, a desperate attempt to mute that obnoxious sound. Finally succeeding, her room was filled with silence. Her room. It had been a few years, and she was completely comfortable here. It's part of my role, Winter would tell herself, but she wasn't completely convinced. She had come to love this place, this sanctuary. She hadn't felt this much peace ever, and over the past four years she had found herself again. For the most part Hydra left her alone, biding their time. Once in a while they would send her a small task, just to make sure she was still on their side, and so they could track her progress.  
Her position within S.H.I.E.L.D. was enviable, anyone in Hydra would kill for it. And I'm not even sure I want it. Winter forced herself to sit up, and she looked around, examining her room. Grey walls, white floor, a metal cabinet in one corner holding her clothes, and two metal doors; one leading to her bathroom, the other into the hall. Everything was so plain, just the way she liked it. She looked at her alarm and saw that it was 5:04 a.m. She sighed, getting out of bed and walking over the the washroom. She quickly showered, brushed her teeth, combed out her hair, then walked back into her room to get dressed.  
Phil normally came to get her at 5:30, so she had a few minute to her self. She thought back to the dream she had that night, one she hadn't had in months. She used to dream of S.H.I.E.L.D rescuing her all the time, but as she grew used to the environment, the dream left. But last night she had dreamed of that awful warehouse, of Phil coming to save her, and the whole reason she was there. The child inside her told her she shouldn't help Hydra at all, that she should tell Phil everything and ask him to keep her safe. The only problem is no one is truly safe, especially Winter, so she ignored that voice and focused on the mission. She was one of Hydra's greatest creations, and by far the most successful. Like most of Hydra’s best agents, she hadn’t joined willingly. Winter shuddered, letting her memories consume her.  
_At 4 years old Winter was taken from her family, kidnapped to be used as one of Hydra’s many test subjects. She was enlisted in the Corhtexiphan trials run by Dr. bishop, along with 27 other children. Only 12 survived the first dose. They continued the doses weekly, and the remaining children flourished. Corhtexiphan enhances the brain, and can only be used on children, since adults have already fully developed and don't have room for growth. The children all began showing signs of abilities by the sixth dose. All except Winter. She stayed healthy, but any powers remained dormant. Dr. Walter tried to push her, tried to force the abilities to ignite, but they wouldn't. His attention was quickly required elsewhere when the other children started getting sick. One by one, they all died, the Corhtexiphan eating away at their brain, which was unable to handle the drug. Eventually it was only Winter, and she waited calmly for the drug to take her as well. It never did. About two weeks later she had her first incident. They had decided to cut her off the Corhtexiphan about a week earlier, and had been taking daily blood tests since. The needles never bothered her, but this doctor was being especially harsh. All week he had been grabbing her hard enough to leave bruises, and when she would try to squirm out of his grip, he would hit her. A week of this brought on an anger Winter had never felt before, and the next time he grabbed her, the needle flew out of his hand and buried itself into his chest. He gasped, and she stared wide eyed as he slumped to the floor, a nurse quickly running to his aid. She knew she had done it, but didn't know how. Dr. Walter ran in, a wild look on his weathered face, and she started to cry. She was sure he would punish her, but instead he just smiled. After that, her training began, this came with more knowledge of her abilities. Telekinesis was just scratching the surface, she could also teleport, turn invisible, and control people's minds. Her powers were complicated, but she quickly learned their rules and boundaries. Simple things like her inability to turn something invisible unless she had physical contact with it, or that her commands only took root in a persons mind if she held eye contact with them. After twelve long years of training, both physical and mental, she was ready. With complete control over her abilities, and better fighting skills than most Hydra agents, she was a weapon. She continued training everyday, waiting. When they finally gave her an assignment, she was thrilled. The walk to Dr. Walter's office took ages, and with every step her heart pounded just a little bit faster. When she knocked on the door, her whole body started to tremble, she hadn't been this worked up in years. He opened his door and motioned her in, and she walked through the doorway hesitantly. She took a deep breath before seating herself in front of his desk. "You look nervous," he started, his baritone voice filling the room, "you shouldn't be, you've been ready for months." Winter forced a smile and replied, "Yes, sir, I know." And he smiled in return, genuinely. She knew it was genuine, because Dr. Walter had a soft spot for her. After all, she was the only survivor of his experiment, his life's work. Winter wasn't sure if he loved her, or the Corhtexiphan that augmented her brain, but love is love, and Dr. Walter was her only source. He truly valued her and her abilities, nurturing them with the strict kindness of a father. Not that she would know what a father was like, but Dr. Walter was the next best thing. She was pulled away from her train of thought as he slid a folder across the desk, and she reached forward to pick it up. "It contains everything you need to know, where to go, what to do, and any information on S.H.I.E.L.D. the you'll need." He said, watching her carefully. She kept the file closed, though she was dying to open it, "Thank you, sir." She replied. He smiled again, "You're welcome Winter." She stood up and left his office, beginning to sprint once she got into the hall.She reached her room and locked the door behind her, walking over to sit on the edge of her bed. With shaking hands she slowly opened the folder, staring at the contents. There was a lot to read, and she could tell that it was going to take a while. A few hours later, Winter finally closed the file, taking a moment to let her her anger rise, before throwing the folder at the wall. She stood up and walked over to the papers scattered across her floor, "What the hell!" She yelled, "You raise me and train me for years, and this is the first mission you give me? Infiltrating fricken S.H.I.E.L.D.? This is suicide! Ugh." She glared at the wall, before bending down to clean up the mess._  
There was a knock at the door, startling Winter out of her memory. She looked at the clock, seeing that it was 5:37. Phil is never late. "Come on in" She shouted. Getting up, she grabbed a sweater and put it on, facing away from the door as it opened. "What happened? You're never late." She said, doing up the zipper and turning back towards the door. She froze halfway as her eyes found the man standing in the doorway, "You're not Phil..."  
The man said nothing, only stared at Winter, unimpressed. She knew who he was, the agent assigned to her, giving her small tasks and reminding her who she was really working for. "What do you want?" She asked, the resignation clear in her voice. "Did you send out the letter I gave you?" He asked, and she rolled her eyes, sick of that code, before replying, "Oh my gosh, we really need to change that..." "Did you send out the letter?" He cut her off, aggravation clear on his face. "Because it has got to be the worst code ever, I can't even mail anything from in here!" She argued, trying not to let her amusement show on her face. He took a few steps towards her, and instinctively she took a few back.  
She could see him trying to calm down, before he asked again, "Did you send the letter." "Oh for goodness sake, yes I sent the stupid letter," Winter replied, rolling her eyes, "why do we even have to do that? It's not like they bugged me, they aren't hiding underneath my bed to catch you, they trust me." "It's a precaution, you know that." "Well it's a stupid one." Winter mumbled, rolling her eyes. "Fury has activated the avengers." "What!” Winter half shouted, “I thought that idea had been trashed." If he was surprised by her outburst, he didn’t show it. "It was, but Fury ignored direct orders and went ahead with it. That's why Coulson is late, he was out last night informing Stark." Winter's eyes widened, this is really happening, she thought to herself. "So what does that have to do with me?" She asked. "Coulson is going to ask you to tag along, giving you a chance to see what it's like out in the field. You will do everything in your power to stop the Avengers initiative from taking place, while still taking caution not to blow your cover," he looked down at his watch, "Coulson should be on his way, do not forget who you work for." And with that, he left the room.  
Winter stood there for a moment, trying to grasp what had just happened. Phil is taking me out? I haven't been outside in years..... Her thoughts were interrupted by a second knock at the door. She gathered herself, then shouted "Come on in!" The door opened and Phil walked in. She pushed the previous conversation down, and forced an amused smirk on her face, "You're late." She jested. Phil smiled, "I know, I got caught up last night, I just got back an hour ago." She knew this of course, but let surprise show on her face, "Why were you out so late?" She asked, trying to maintain her mask of confusion. "That's actually what I need to talk to you about," he started, looking at her and smiling, "I know you haven't been out of this facility since you got here, and I know that must have been hard, but you handled it very well." Winter smiled, "Thanks Phil." Phil continued, "I have decided that you are ready to go out in the field." Knew that also. Winter forced both excitement and suspicion onto her face, "Really? You're kidding." "I'm not joking Winter, you will be accompanying me on this next mission, you have been training for four years and have shown incredible improvement, trust me when I say that you're ready." The warmth that filled her chest was not forced, she always felt proud when Phil complimented her. He was even more of a father to her than Dr. Walter had been, and she had grown to love him. He treated her so much kinder than the Dr. had, and he cared about her, not her power. His knowledge of her abilities was less than Dr. Walter’s though, and that thought always haunted her. Phil was so impressed with what little power she had chosen to show him, she almost felt guilty for holding the rest back. She longed to show Phil what she was really made of, but she couldn’t. She feared that if she did, she would become more of a tool to him, an instrument he used when he needed her powers, then locked away until her abilities were of use again. So she kept the full force of her powers to herself. But to be convincing she had to give them something. It had been difficult pretending she had no control at the beginning, clumsily using her powers, getting frustrated when she couldn't do something. After a month of struggling she allowed herself some headway, gradually getting better and better. Four years later S.H.I.E.L.D. was convinced she had full control of all her abilities. She had shown them her telekinesis, but she hid everything else. She hadn't used some of her abilities in years, and it was starting to wear her down. Winter looked back at Phil, smiling and waiting for instruction. "Pack up your things, I'll brief you on the way."


	2. Chapter 2

Phil left her room with the promise to return in twenty minutes. Winter quickly changed out of her workout clothes, and pulled on her suit. She had wanted to design one herself, but hadn’t been given the choice. The suit, made with a flexible black spandex, fit her form snugly. The durable material hugged her curves while still giving her the freedom to move. She pulled on her black boots, and used her mind to grab a duffel bag from the cabinet, before filling it with spare clothes. She then took the bag to the washroom and filled it with all the necessities.  
Once she had everything packed, she set the bag down next to the sink and looked in the mirror. She never really stopped to look at herself, and was surprised whenever she did. Her skin was pale, but not hauntingly so; it suited her. She had an angled face, cheekbones prominent. Her round eyes were a dark green that went nicely with her long dark hair, which reached down to her waist in loose waves. Her nose and lips were small, but they fit her face perfectly. When she wasn't smiling her face was harsh, she looked dangerous. She wouldn't say she was gorgeous, but she was pretty. She sighed, before pulling her hair back into a high ponytail.  
Winter grabbed the bag and made her way back into her room. She sat on her bed, the bag resting beside her, and waited for Phil to return. She didn't wait long, before she knew it he was back, and they were on their way. Her stomach was in knots, Get it together, she scolded herself, but only halfheartedly. She was too giddy to be upset about this small display of weakness. She was going outside! Into the field! Winter had been dreaming about this for years! They walked for what seemed like forever, Winter losing track of how many hallways they turned down. They all looked the same, a sterile while floor, white walls, and evenly spaced metal doors. Eventually they turned a corner and instead of another hallway, they were met with a large metal door. Phil quickly tapped in a code, which Winter subconsciously committed to memory. They entered the hangar, full of different sized jets and planes. They walked towards a small jet, and Winter realized she had no idea where they were going. Phil had taken out his phone, and was alerting someone about their estimated arrival time. As soon as he hung up, Winter asked "So Phil, where we headed?" He smiled, before replying "Well we have one stop to make in New York, but after that were headed to home base." Winter crinkled her nose in confusion, "Home base?" Phil chuckled, "Never mind Winter, you'll see." And with that he walked up the ramp into the jet. Winter waited a moment, revelling in the fact that she was actually leaving, before following.

 

Thirty minutes into the flight, Winter finally began to settle down. She had spent the first 10 minutes in the cockpit, looking out the windows over the pilot's shoulder. Phil had finally come and told her she had to sit down, and she reluctantly obeyed. Once she had taken a seat on the bench, she leaned back and decided to rest her eyes. She must have dozed off, because what felt like a moment later, she was jolted awake by the jet landing. Phil got up as the ramp opened with a hiss, and turned to her, "I'll be right back, are you okay staying here?" Winter was dying to get outside, but she could see that they were only at another S.H.I.E.L.D. base. She was tired anyways, so she just shook her head, "Yeah, it's probably better for me to just sit tight." Phil smiled to show he understood, before walking off towards the building. Winter sat, letting her mind wander.  
Of course her first time leaving the base was tainted by the task Hydra had given her. She had almost hoped they had forgotten about her, but of course they hadn't. But as horrible as Hydra was, they had created her, made her who she was. Without them she was no one. This thought was the only one that kept Winter from breaking, from telling Phil the truth. He would lose trust in her, he would cast her out. Where would she go then? She couldn't return to Hydra if she failed them. Some small part of her brain screamed that Phil wouldn't throw her out, that he would only pull her closer and vow to keep her safe. That's what a dad would do, right? But Phil isn't my dad.  
Before she could torture herself further, she saw two men approaching the jet. One was significantly bigger than the other, and she couldn't recognize him from that far out. The other she quickly realized was Phil. She tried to work out who was walking alongside him, and as soon as the reached the foot of the ramp, Winter's eyes widened. She smothered her surprise and put on a mask of indifference as he got closer. Phil looked at her, then turned to the man, "Steve, can I call you Steve?" The man raised one eyebrow, but nodded. "Okay, Steve this is Winter, she'll be coming with us." Steve looked at her, and she gave him a tight lipped smile, nodded her head, and looked away disinterested. The only person she allowed to see her emotions was Phil, and in reality she was freaking out. Captain fricken America was standing right there. He was even more attractive in person, and her heart fluttered a beat. He was wearing a brown leather jacket over a plaid shirt. Add his black jeans and he was looking fine. She forced herself to push it from her mind as Steve walked over and took a seat on the bench across from her own. The ramp came back up, and they took off again.  
For most of the flight Steve was doing research on a tablet. Winter recognized some of the clips of Stark and Dr. Banner, but the others were foreign to her. About forty five minutes into the flight, Winter couldn't stand sitting and doing nothing. Trying not to smile, she reached out with her mind and flicked Steve on the cheek lightly. He flinched a bit, but didn't look up from the tablet. She did it again, and this time he swatted at his face, presumably thinking there was a bug. He looked up at her, and she raised her eyebrows in innocent confusion. A second later she tapped him again, this time right between the eyes. He flinched again, and whipped his head around trying to find the source. She was about to pull on his hair telekinetically, but she heard Phil say "Winter." His voice dragging out into a warning. Winter looked over to see that Phil hadn't even turned around. "How do you always see me?!" Winter asked, exasperated. "I told you, I have eyes in the back of my head." Steve was looking between them, before looking back at Winter. "That was you?" She blushed, "Yeah, Sorry. I'm just really bored." "That's alright, so what was that exactly?" He asked, looking interested. Winter smiled, "Telekinesis, I can move and touch objects using my mind." He nodded, looking impressed, before returning his attention to the tablet. One of the agents approached Phil, telling him there was only 40 minutes left until they arrived. Winter looked out the window to see they were over the ocean, where are we going?  
Phil got up and walked over to Steve, who was watching a clip of the Hulk destroying some building. He looked up at Phil and asked, "So this Dr. Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?" Phil replied, "A lot of people were. You were the worlds first super hero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula." Steve was focused back on the clip, and the hulk let out a huge roar, "Didn't really go his way, did it?" "Not so much, but when he's not that thing, the guy's like a Stephen Hawking." Winter watched as Steve raised an eyebrow, looking at Phil confused. Phil noticed this, and quickly tried to explain, "He's like a... smart person." Steve lowered the eyebrow, before looking back to his tablet. Winter fought the urge to laugh, she knew how big of a Captain America fan Phil was, and he was being an even bigger dork than she had expected. She just hoped he knew what should and shouldn't be said. As soon as she had that thought, Phil started rambling again, "I gotta say, it's an honour to meet you, officially." Oh gosh stop, stop now.  
Steve looked up at him, not saying anything, then gave a forced half smile. "I sort of met you, I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping." Winter's eyes widened, and she saw Steve look away from Phil. She snorted, trying to hold in a laugh. This got Steve's attention, and he looked up at her, amusement and confusion on his face. Phil quickly realized his mistake and attempted to make up for it. "I mean I was," Steve stood up and walked towards the cockpit. "I was present while you were unconscious.... from the ice." Winter couldn't help herself, she burst out laughing. Steve looked at her, embarrassment gone, eyes full of laughter. Phil's face was red, and he walked over to where Steve was standing, "You know it's just a huge honour to have you on board." Winter, not being able to stand this any longer laughed before saying "Oh my gosh Phil! Just leave him alone." Phil opened his mouth to protest, but then thought better of it. Steve gave her an appreciative look, before walking back over to sit on the bench. The next thirty minutes were spent in silence.  
Winter looked up when she felt the jet descending. She had been lost in thought, trying to come up with ways to stop the Avengers Initiative from taking place. She looked over to see Steve watching her. "Where are we?" She asked, and he shrugged. “I don’t know, they don’t tell me anything.” "Me neither," Winter agreed, “You look nervous.” Steve just shrugged again, "I'm just worried, I hope I can help." Just then the jet landed. They both stood up as the ramp opened yet again. "Well, I just hope I don't get in the way." Winter said, more to herself than anyone.

Winter first noticed that “home base” was a boat. Well, more of a ship. As soon as they stepped off the ramp she was assaulted by the wind and the smell of the ocean. She took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of the sun on her skin. A woman walked over to meet them. She had short red hair, a deep bold red. She was wearing a black leather jacket with an orange tank top. She was gorgeous, and Winter self consciously played with her ponytail. Phil greeted her as “Agent Romanov.” Winter committed her name and face to memory. “This is Captain Rogers.” He said, and Winter noticed he had switched back to formalities, trying to make up for his embarrassing show earlier. Steve greeted the woman, “Ma’am.” And she replied with a simple “Hi. Phil they need you on the bridge.” But she was distracted, staring at Winter. “Who’s the kid?” Phil looked at Winter, probably having forgotten she was there, “This is Winter, she’s here with me.” With that he turned to her, “Come with me, lets go inside.”


	3. Chapter 3

      The doors hissed shut behind them, shutting out the sun and the wind. Winter almost whimpered, longing to go back outside. Phil started walking down the hall, and Winter jogged to catch up. The halls were like a maze, even more confusing than the ones back at her S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Finally they reached the bridge, and Winter stayed back, taking in all the details. There were rows of men and women on computers, presumably controlling the ship. Other people were rushing about, orders being yelled left and right. The ship lurched, a deafening sound filling the room, and Winter looked around trying to figure out what was happening. The ship slowly lifted up into the air, and Winter finally registered that it was actually a helocarrier, not a boat. She watched as Phil walked over to a tall man with a long coat, an eyepatch over his left eye. Director Fury. She continued looking around, amazed by the level of technology around her. "Hello Winter." She heard behind her. Turning around, she saw Mariah Hill. A smile broke on her face, and she rushed over to hug her friend. "Mariah! What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in months!" Pulling away, Mariah smiled, "I was promoted, although at the time I dreaded it. I left without saying goodbye and it haunted me for weeks." Winter rushed to reply, "No no don't feel bad! Phil told me everything, I knew you would have said goodbye if you could have." Smiling with relief, Mariah nodded. She then seemed to remember why she had come over, "let me show you where to put your stuff." Winter adjusted her bag, "alright! Let's go."   
       The door hissed shut as Mariah left her alone in a small bedroom. Sighing, Winter dropped her bag onto the bed, before flopping down herself. She laid there a few moments on the crisp mattress before realizing she had too much energy to relax. Winter checked the clock next to her bed, 11:32 am. Shoot I'm late! Groaning, she dragged herself off the bed, grabbed her key, and left the room. Jogging down the halls trying to remember the path Mariah had taken. Winter knew she was getting closer, and turned a corner running straight into a man’s chest. He was forced a few steps back, surprise on his face to match her own. Winter’s mind raced, quickly pulling up a name for the man in front of her, along with an apology, "Dr. Banner I'm so sorry!" He laughed lightly, still trying to shake off his surprise, "It’s okay," he hesitated a moment before asking, "Are you heading back to the bridge?" Winter smiled before nodding, "Yep! I’m close right?" He smiled, “Yep! Just keep going down this hallway, and take the first left." Winter smiled, and began walking down the hall, after a few steps he called after her, "What's your name?" She looked back at him and smiled, "Winter."  
        By the time she got to the bridge she was ten minutes late. Winter tried to calm her nerves as she saw Phil, Steve, and Director Fury standing throughout the room. She quickly walked over and stood next to Phil and Steve. They barely noticed her, paying full attention to one of the agents sitting at a computer who had just spoken up, “Got a hit! 67% match. Wait, crossmatch… 79%.” Phil walked over, “Location?” “Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Koningstrasse. He’s not exactly hiding.” Winter figured she should get a look at the man they were discussing, but his face flashed off the screen before she had even processed the thought. She stuck to just memorizing the location, giving her at least something. Fury spoke up, “Captain, you’re up.” Winter felt a pang of rejection, realizing she wasn’t being sent with him. The disappointment must have been clear on her face, because Phil frowned at her apologetically. After Steve had left, Winter walked up to Phil. He looked at her as if about to speak, but she quickly talked before he could apologize, it would only make her feel worse for what she was about to do. "Hey Phil, I'm really not feeling well, is it alright if I spend the rest of today in my room?" He smiled, and nodded, about to say something else when another agent came up, drawing his attention from her. She took this opportunity to slip away. As soon as the elevator door opened onto her floor she rushed out and down the halls to her room. She changed into a sweater and a pair of jeans and gathered her small dagger, and her USB. Hiding them in the waistband of her pants, she walked into the washroom, and closed the door. It was roomy, similar to the washroom in her room back at home. Closing her eyes, she focused on the coordinates that had been given, and let herself slip away completely. Finally feeling herself come back, she slowly opened her eyes, finding herself in an alley. Walking out onto the sidewalk, she looked around to find out where she was. _Only a few miles off, not bad_. It was near sunset, so she didn't have much time. She walked down the street, looking for a store where she could buy (or borrow) the appropriate attire for the night. It was going to be a gala, so to fit in she had to dress the part. She finally found the perfect shop, but when she walked in she could immediately tell it was an expensive place, and she stuck out like a sore thumb. An employee walked over and, with a disapproving scowl, asked "What can I help you with?" Winter looked her in the eyes, maintaining contact before slowly replying "you're going to help me find a dress, my favorite color is green." The employees face was blank, "We have a beautiful green dress that would fit you perfectly, come with me."   
       Three hours later she was ready. Deep green full length halter dress, 6-inch gold heels, hair curled, makeup done to accentuate her pale skin and green eyes. She re-hid her dagger and USB throughout her person, somehow making sure they weren't visible. Giving herself one last look over, she walked out of the changing room, exiting the store and walking down the street towards her destination, regretting her choice of footwear. Once inside she immediately realized how stupid this was. _I don’t even know who I’m looking for_. Almost everyone was taller than her even with her heels, so looking around, Winter decided she needed a higher vantage point. There was a second level balcony that surrounded the room, and she climbed the stairs, walking along the railing until she found an efficient position. She evaluated everything, watching as people laughed, talked, drank. It looked like a beautiful party, and Winter almost wished she could be down there with them. A man down below began to make a speech, and, not seeing anyone who could be a threat, Winter relaxed, choosing to look at the room itself. It was beautiful, a cream marble. The walls around the balcony were covered in beautiful paintings, and looking across she noticed there was another man up there with her. He was watching the area below as she had been. She hadn't been staring a moment when he looked up, and his eyes met with hers. She held his gaze for another moment before returning to look below. Without any further luck, she sighed. "The party is down there, you know." Said a deep voice behind her. She would have been surprised, but her training had left it impossible to sneak up on her. "I could say the same to you," she replied, turning around. He was a good foot taller than her, angled face, long dark hair slicked back. His suit fit him perfectly, accentuated with a beautiful scarf and a gold cane. By the time she looked back up to his face, he was smirking at her "I'm not here for the party." He said. "Then why are you here?" Winter asked, curious. "That, is none of your business." He said, and Winter cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "Tell me why you're here." She demanded, looking into his eyes to make the connection. He looked confused, and she could see her demand coating his thoughts. After a moment she felt him fighting it, and saw him override the command in his head, looking back at her bewildered. He took a step towards her, raising his cane which had suddenly become a scepter. "Where did that come from?" Winter asked, trying to buy herself time, knowing that this was the man S.H.I.E.L.D. was after. He didn't answer, just raised the scepter up and touched it to her heart. She immediately gasped. A feeling as cold as ice went through her heart, spreading up through her spine and wrapping around her brain. She felt violated, feeling this man sifting through her mind, her memories, and her thoughts. She could see what was happening but couldn't control anything. She watched him smirk at her, "You’re strong, and you may be of use to me." _Who are you_? He looked over her shoulder to the crowd below, “Loki.” He replied with a smirk, before walking off towards the stairs, Winter following without deciding to. _Loki… Thor’s brother_? He waited at the top of the stairs for her, fighting down the unpleasant scowl that her thought had brought on, and she put her arm around his as they began descending. Winter tried to pull her arm away, but her body wouldn't listen. "Don't fight me." He said to her, before pulling out of her arms and walking towards a guard, knocking him out with his cane. When had his scepter turned back into a cane?            Rushing forward on an impulse that wasn't her own, Winter grabbed the man who was making the speech and flipped him over onto the flat surface of the statue in the middle of the room. Loki joined her, pulling out a device, raising it and pushing a button on the top of the handle. It opened up and began to spin, and Loki slammed it down on the poor man’s eye. Winter was still trying to fight whatever hold he had on her, unsuccessfully. Everyone was running out of the room screaming, _why did it take so long for them to run_? Winter pushed the man off of the table, Loki apparently being done with him. They both walked towards the doors, the sound of Winter’s heels resonating loudly throughout the now empty room. Loki's body began to shimmer as his outfit changed from the suit into armor. Winter followed, but unfortunately her now ripped dress remained. She felt her form slip away, and she fell back, remaining near the door. Loki continued walking, using his scepter to blow back and approaching police car. Loki began to gather everyone into a large circle, containing them with projections of himself. Once everyone was in a gaggle, looking around nervously, Loki got their attention again, demanding, "Kneel before me". Everyone looked around confused, and this time he yelled, "I said KNEEL". People slowly dropped to their knees, and he went on, resuming his calm kept demeanor, "Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled, in the end you will always kneel". How many times has he practiced that? An old man stood up defiantly, "Not to men like you" Loki tilted his head, "There are no men like me". The man sighed, "There are always men like you." At this Loki laughed, before bellowing "Look to your elder people, let him be an example." Winter tried to move as Loki raised his scepter, aiming it at the man, but she just stood there, invisible and useless. The scepter fired a ball of energy, and Winter reigned in all the control she had, using her mind to grab the projectile in midair right before it hit. _So I can't move but I can still use my mind powers?_ Loki wheeled around to glare in her direction, clamping down even harder on her brain. Before he could do anything else, Captain America dropped down onto the sidewalk near them. _Where did he come from?_ Taking more effort than usual, Winter shot the ball of energy back and knocked Loki off his feet. Steve looked confused, but ignored it, walking towards Loki, "You know, the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everyone else, we ended up disagreeing." Steve said. Loki on his knees brought his head up, "the soldier." He growled out, using his scepter to help him up, "a man out of time". "I'm not the one who's out of time" Steve replied. Winter heard a jet pull up, and Natasha said over the speakers, "Loki, drop your weapon and stand down." At this he shot a wave of energy at the jet, which Natasha dodged. All the pedestrians scrambled away, and while Loki was distracted, Steve threw his shield. Loki deflected it, and went to hit Steve with his scepter. Steve knocked it away with his shield, and punched Loki in the face. Winter started moving forward, drawing out her dagger as she did so. _Please don't make me do this,_ she pleaded. He ignored her, and she stabbed Steve in the side, leaving him gasping and looking around but seeing nothing. While he was distracted, Loki pushed him into his knees using his scepter, "kneel" he growled. _Dang_. Before Steve could respond, faint music could be heard, getting louder. Everyone turned their heads and Tony came flying around the corner of a building in one of his suits. He shot a blast of energy at Loki, who landed on the stairs with a groan, and Tony aimed his palm at him again, "Make a move reindeer games." Loki let his gear slip away, transforming into a lighter armor while raising his arms in surrender. "Good move" Tony said, but Winter was confused, she knew Loki wasn't intimidated, he could have defeated them and walked off. His surrender was on purpose. The jet touched down a moment later, and as they carted Loki onboard, Winter snuck on.

 

* * *

 

 

Halfway through the flight, having listened to Steve and Tony debate for what seemed like ages, Winter was just about ready to jump out of the jet. Which would be great if she could actually move. She had been sitting next to Loki the whole time, and he was silent. She was exhausted from fighting against his hold on her mind. She remained invisible, which was good because no one was supposed to know she was there. Loki must have found that little tidbit when he ripped through her brain. A crack of lightning flashed across the sky, tearing her from her thoughts and causing her to jump. She had no control over her body, so it must have been Loki who was scared. He was looking up, worry written all over his face. Steve caught this, and said "what's the matter, scared of a little lightning?" Loki looked at him, "I'm not overly fond of what follows." Confused, Steve and Tony looked at each other, before a bang was heard on the roof of the jet and their eyes were drawn upward. They shared another look, before Tony reached for his helmet and opened up the ramp. He was about to go out when a figure landed heavily. It was Thor. At once he started coming towards Loki. Tony tried to stop him, but Thor hit him with his hammer, knocking him back into Steve. Just as Thor grabbed hold of Loki, Winter caught hold of his arm. Thor swung his hammer and suddenly Winter felt a pull stronger than anything she had ever felt before. She was barely able to hold on to Loki as they whipped through the air. Just as she felt her grip slipping, they landed. Well landed was putting it nicely. Thor threw them into the ground. She was next to Loki, the air gone from her lungs. Her wheezing was covered by his loud groan. "Where is the tesseract" Thor asked him. At this Loki laughed, "I missed you too". "Do I look to be in a gaming mood?" Thor asked angrily. "You should thank me, with the Bifrost gone how much dark energy did the Allfather have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious earth." Thor dropped his hammer heavily, and as Loki was trying to stand he grabbed him by the shoulders, heaving him to his feet. He put a hand on the side of his face, cradling his neck in a surprisingly intimate way, while still somehow remaining upset, "I thought you dead". "Did you mourn" Loki asked, and Thor responded, "We all did, our father..." Loki interrupted him, emphasizing his words, "your father". Thor was silent, and Loki went on, "He did tell you my true parentage did he not?" Winter laid there listening, Loki seeming to have forgotten her, but she knew he hadn't, he wasn't letting her get up but making sure she could see what was happening. Loki walked away from Thor, bracing his back, and Thor followed, "We were raised together, we played together, we fought together, do you remember none of that?" Loki turned, "I remember a shadow, living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss, I who was and should be king." They both seemed to be holding back tears, which surprised Winter. Thor went on, "So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights. No. The earth is under my protection Loki." At this Loki laughed, "and you're doing a marvelous job" sarcasm dripped from his voice, "the humans slaughter each other in throes while you idly fret. I mean to rule them!" Thor was sober, "So you think yourself above them." Loki looked confused, "Well yes". _Wow_. "You miss the truth of ruling brother, the throne would suit you ill". Loki stormed past him, almost stomping on Winter as he went by, _Rude_. "I've seen worlds you've never known about," he shouted, "I have grown, Odinson," he spat the word like it was poison on his lips, "In my exile. I've seen the true power of the tesseract, and when I wield it," he was interrupted by Thor, "Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be King?" Loki's face broke out with rage, and he yelled, "I AM A KING". Thor grabbed him, yelling back, "NOT HERE! YOU GIVE UP THE TESSERACT! YOU GIVE UP THIS POISONOUS DREAM," his voice softened, "You come home." Loki laughed, a short sarcastic laugh filled with sadness, "I don't have it." Thor pushed him away, summoning Mjolnir and raising it to strike. Winter felt herself stand up, pulling out her dagger again, but she stayed where she was and Loki continued, "You need the tesseract to take me home, but I've sent it off I know not where". Thor pointed his hammer at Loki, "Listen well brother..." Tony chose this moment to crash right into Thor, taking him with him as they both flew into the forest. "I'm listening" Loki said, before turning around to look at Winter. Her form reappeared and he walked towards her. "You know, it's very disruptive when you keep fighting me all the time, you can't overcome the hold I have on your mind, and your efforts are annoying." _Are you sure? I managed to stop your glowing ball of death from hitting that man_. He scowled, "Do not test me, if you annoy me I will take my anger out on you, and I can assure you that it will not be enjoyable." _If I could roll my eyes I would. Seriously though, you take over my body and expect me to be okay with it? Of course I'm going to fight it_. "It's a waste of your time. Do as you wish, but know that you will suffer the consequences." _Whatever_. "You and I have the same goal you know. Indirectly of course. We both want to stop S.H.I.E.L.D, obviously our reasons are different, but you may still be of use to me." He paused, contemplating, before continuing, "You seem to be used a lot, your whole life really" _S.H.I.E.L.D. Never used me...._ "I was talking about Hydra. They created you, but I know how you really feel about them, and how you feel about Phil." _It's part of my mission, I'll do what I need to do._ "I hope for your case that you do." Loki turned and looked over his shoulder, and she felt her form slip away, becoming invisible. _I hope I do too._


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I don't really know if anyone is reading this, but if you are I hope you like it! Please let me know if you do, it will help motivate me to keep writing! :)

Chapter four

Loki was carted out of the jet, surrounded by ten or so guards. As they marched him inside Winter followed. They walked down hall after hall, and she wondered where they were taking him. As they passed a lab, Loki looked through the window at Bruce Banner, and Winter felt her head turn towards him too. She knew that Loki's biggest playing card was getting the Hulk to turn on the rest of the team, Winter had even considered it herself. _Too sloppy... And obvious._ She saw Loki's body tense as he continued to walk, and she would have laughed if she could. They finally came to a huge room with a circular glass cell. The door to the cell opened with a hiss, and the guards pushed Loki inside. Winter stood against the wall, watching. She had begun to sweat, the effects of staying invisible taking their toll. _Loki, please let me go somewhere and reform, I can't hold off my form much longer._ He didn't even look at her, he was looking at the doorway. Winter watched as Nick Fury sauntered in. _Okay, whatever._ He walked over to the control panel, “In case it’s unclear,” he started, pushing a few buttons, “ You try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass,” and he pushed a button, causing the floor beneath the cell to open up, wind rushing in. Loki looked down the side, and Fury yelled over the sound of the wind, “Thirty thousand feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?” He pushes the button again, reclosing the floor. He gestures to Loki, then the control panel, “Ant. Boot.” Loki laughs, “It’s an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me.” “Built for something a lot stronger than you.” Loki smirks, “Oh I’ve heard,” He looks to the security camera aimed at his cell, “A mindless beast. Makes play he’s still a man. How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?” “How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can’t hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill because it’s fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did.” Loki mocks sympathy, “Ooh, it burns you to have come so close. To have the tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is.” Fury was still for a moment, before smirking himself, "Well let me know if ‘real power’ wants a magazine or something." And he left the room leaving them in silence. Loki looked at Winter, before turning his back to her, presumably so the camera couldn't see him. "I am going to temporarily relinquish my hold on you. You will walk back to your room and change into more suitable clothes. Visit your friends so that they know you are alright, but if you give anything away, if they suspect you work for me in any way, you will live to regret it. When I need you I will retake control, so don't wander off too far." And with that, she felt his hold on her diminish, though his presence was still there. Looking down, Winter saw she was still in her ripped dress and sighed. Loki could sense her hesitation to leave, "What do you want," he growled. "I want to know why you won't just let me help you, I don't have to be under your control to fight by your side," Winter requested shyly, not wanting to provoke him into believe controlling her was necessary. "It's easier when you are under my control, you do exactly what I want. It's sharper, cleaner." Winter scoffed, exasperated, "But I can't fight using my own techniques! And trust me, I would be of much more use fighting my way. You can control me, but you have yet to tap into my powers, just think of how much better it would be if I could use them during a fight!" She waited anxiously for his response, which took longer than it should have. "Would you prefer it if I retook control right now?" Uhm excuse me? "No thank you." Winter replied, reigning in her anger before briskly leaving the room, letting her form slip away painfully, before running back to her room. Stopping outside her door, she looking down the hall to make sure she was alone before going in. Shutting the door behind her, she let her form slip back, slumping against the door. "Well that's new." She jumped, head whipping up to see Phil standing next to her bed. Winter didn't say anything, just staring at him, eyes wide. "What else are you hiding from me?" Phil asked, he looked disappointed. Winter looked away, heart beating out of her chest, before answering "I don't know what you're talking about." Phil sighed, "Winter don't do this, don't shut me out. I just saw you sneak back in. Also, I’m assuming that you were invisible a second ago, so if you hid that power how do I know that there aren't more? Just tell me what else you can do, and why you haven’t told me before." _Oh gosh, time for the theatrics,_ although it wasn’t really acting when Winter felt her eyes begin to burn, fighting back tears. "I was scared, I thought that you would use me." _Not completely untrue_. Phil just shook his head "Why would I do that?" "Because, if I'm really powerful you would make me work for you and do whatever you needed because I was convenient." Winter let out really fast, the words tumbling out almost incomprehensively. "Winter that's not true, I would have nurtured your powers and encouraged you to use them, but I would never have forced you into anything,” he hesitated, “What else can you do?" Winter sniffled before answering "Well other than invisibility and telekinesis, I can teleport, and control people’s minds." Phil looked shocked, "But wouldn't it hurt you? Not using these powers for so long? Or did you just use them without me knowing?" "I would use them when it was safe, but only to exercise them." Phil looked at her with suspicion, "This doesn't explain where you were, and why you're in a torn dress." Winter looked down at what she was wearing, "I went to try and stop Loki." "Why?" Phil asked and Winter looked back up at him, "I wanted to show you guys that I can be of help" Phil motioned to her dress, "How did that go? Neither Tony, Steve, or Natasha saw you" "I approached him inside the party, I didn’t even know who I was looking for, and by the time I realized who he was, he had already attacked. I came at him, we fought, he hurt me so I teleported away, I feel so stupid now." Phil walked towards her, arms open for a hug, and Winter complied, "It's okay Winter, I understand, it's your first time out of the base and you were excited to prove yourself. I'm just glad you didn't get hurt." Guilt coursed through Winter, Phil cared about her so much and she was lying straight to him. He pulled back a bit and put a hand on her cheek, seeming to check her eyes. "What are you doing?" She asked. "Nothing, I was just checking something." he smiled, relieved, before continuing "Look, get some rest, tomorrow could be a long day." Winter smiled as Phil walked towards the door, saying goodbye, and shutting it behind him.  
Sighing, Winter went to sit on her bed. Closing her eyes, she rested her head in her hands. She didn't know what Loki had planned for her, but she knew it couldn't be good. What a mess. It felt horrible lying to Phil, and she had hoped when he learned of her other powers, she would have been admitting everything. It will be an even bigger mess when he finds out about Hydra. Just don't let him find out. Grudgingly, Winter got up and stripped herself of her weapons, her USB, and her dress. She pulled a new combat suit out of her bag, and laid it out on her bed before deciding to take a quick shower. _And by quick I mean 30 minutes._ After, she took the time to brush out the knots in her hair. Thinking back, she was filled with anger at what had happened. _If he had asked nicely I would have helped him, but no, he had to completely take over my body. I couldn't even fight my way, everything was his way. Even when I offered to help him willingly, he declined. Ugh men._ Finally, she emerged from the washroom, dark hair in damp waves. She pulled on her suit, putting her dagger and USB back in their designated places. Closing her eyes, she rested her head in her hands. She didn't know what Loki had planned for her, but she knew it couldn't be good.

***

Becoming restless, Winter felt confined by the walls of her room and decided she needed some breathing room. With a new energy formed through her frustration, she walked down the halls furiously, losing track of where she was going. She had turned so many corners that she doubted she could find her way back without assistance. As she walked by an open door, she stopped at the sound of girls giggling. _No way._ Leaning against the wall, she listened as there were familiar hushed whispers and more giggles. Winter peeked through the doorway, eyes landing on the three girls sitting around a table in the middle of the room. "I think he's super cute Megan! If he had asked me out, I would have said yes in a heartbeat!" Winter's smile was huge, the anger from the past hours slipping away completely. "Of course the only thing you’re thinking about are his looks. Believe it or not Dianna, there is more to a man than his face." More laughter. "Of course, their bodies are amazing!" At this Winter let out a laugh, and all three girls whipped around. There was a moment of blank surprise, before they all squealed and jumped out of their chairs, all at different levels of excitement. They all rushed forward to greet her, wrapping her up in a messy attempt at a group hug. The only friends Winter had at the base, these girls meant more to her than anything. She hadn’t seen them in weeks though, and had missed them horribly. She took them in, each detail coming alive again from her memories. The first was Natalie, with shoulder length brown hair, a single blond streak running down from behind her neck. Her face was angled, jaw prominent, and she was wearing a standard combat suit. She had been training to become a field agent, and had graduated just over a month ago. Second was Dianna. She had long reddish-brown hair that she wore in a loose braid. She had a thin face and cheekbone definition to die for. She was wearing a nurse’s uniform, and had graduated to become a nurse about a month ago. Finally there was Megan. Megan had a slim angled face as well, and her hair was short. Really short. Like “It used to be past my shoulders and then I cut it without telling Winter” short. It stuck out in random directions, and she loved it. She was wearing a white lab coat, so she must have graduated from her program to become a Doctor! Winter had been close to all three girls, but seemed to connect more with Megan, especially since she specialized in neuroscience. Since the Corhtexiphan had effected Winter’s brain, and brains were Megan’s thing, they had gotten along very nicely. Megan constantly ran harmless tests on her to try to understand what had happened. Overall she understood Winter better than any of them. Coming back to the present, Winter pulled herself out of their grasp, beaming at all of them. “Megan! Your hair!” Megan smiled sheepishly, “Surprise!?!” “I love it!” “You should.” _Oh jeez_. Winter turned to Natalie and Dianna, addressing everyone, “So how are you guys? I know it’s only been a month but it feels like forever since I’ve seen you!” Natalie responded first, “It has been forever! We’ve all been so busy, being new to our individual areas of work, but I’ve loved it.” Dianna chimed in, “Yeah it’s been so amazing, but I’ve really missed you. With Natalie already having a steady boyfriend and Megan, well you know how she is, I haven’t had anyone to express my feelings with!” Megan looked exasperated, “Look, I listen to you when you rant but I don’t know what you want me to say!” Winter laughed as Dianna rolled her eyes, “I don’t know! Maybe ‘Yeah he is hot!’ or ‘You’re right, that _is_ a very nice butt.’” They all laughed but before anyone could respond there was a huge crash and the carrier lurched. All four girls were thrown against the wall, Dianna falling onto her knees. Winter quickly helped her up, before running to the doorway and looking down the hall for any commotion. She felt something in her mind move uncomfortably. _Oh no_... "Are you ready?" She heard Loki ask in her mind. _What do you think, you piece of_ "What was that?" Winter heard Megan yell, interrupting her mental assault. "I have no idea," Winter replied, and started running. She only took a few steps before she felt her mind hijacked yet again by Loki, and her footfalls slowed. She could see the girls stop too, asking her what was wrong. "Nothings wrong" Winter felt herself smirk, before porting to the lab where Banner had been doing research on the scepter. _Oh no_. When she got there, everyone was gone. _Why is it unguarded_? She quickly grabbed the scepter, and ported back to where she had left her friends. When she reappeared they jumped, being unaware of her other abilities, and upon seeing the scepter their eyes widened. Dianna turned and ran down the hallway, but Natalie didn't hesitate to attack. Coming at Winter, she was stopped by the scepter, which had been placed over her heart. She immediately stiffened, eyes going completely black before her irises turned a brilliant shade of blue. _Is that what i look like?_ Winter was drawn from her thought as she felt herself spin around. She saw Megan coming at her, doubt hiding under a mask of confidence. Before she could even make a move, Winter felt herself lift the scepter, taking over Megan’s mind as well. Turning around, she saw that Natalie had retrieved Dianna, who was staring at all three of them with wide eyes. She looked like she was going to cry, "Please Winter, I’m just a nurse, i wont be of any help to you." She pleaded, and Winter wanted to cry. She knew what they were going through, wished she could stop it. Her arm lifted, the scepter taking another person’s free will. Apparently finished, Winter continued walking down the hall towards Loki’s cell, her three friends following behind her.  
When she reached the room, it was Thor in the cell, not Loki. The trickster himself was standing by the controls, "Are you ever not going to fall for that?" Winter knew what he was going to do, and using all of her strength, she mentally attacked the barrier Loki had around her mind. She saw him flinch, and tried again. At this he stalked over, grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall. There was nothing she could do, and Loki ripped the scepter from her grasp. He looked over his shoulder at Thor, before grabbing her arm and hauling her over to the controls. He could have easily made her walk over, so the dragging was for dramatic effect. _Princess_. Loki glared at her, before growling out, "I told you what would happen if you fought me". Winter felt her arms reaching up towards the controls, pushing a few buttons. She heard the hiss of a hatch opening, the rushing sound of wind. _No_! She was looking right at Thor, who was banging Mjiolnir against the glass, shouting "Winter stop! I know Loki is controlling you, but you can push him out of your head! You can stop this!" Winter tried one more time, pushing against the block in her mind. She heard Loki roar, and kept pushing. She was just making progress when she heard a voice challenging Loki. _Phil_. She hadn’t heard him enter, and immediately stopped fighting against Loki, fearing for his safety. The thought had just appeared in her mind when Loki reappeared behind Phil, shoving the scepter through his chest. _NO_! Winter mentally screamed. She threw a fit, waves of rage and anguish flowing through her body, aching to be released. Letting it out with a roar, she felt Loki's hold on her shatter, and he fell to his knees. Winter ran over to Phil, pulling him into her lap and holding both sides of his face, searching his eyes. She felt a connection she hadn’t before, and could feel his emotions, his pain, his thoughts. They all passed through her mind within a split second, and she had somehow caught all of it. Her eyes snapped open, she hadn't realized they were shut. She was shocked, "You knew.... You knew that I was working for Hydra. Why did you let me stay?" Phil sighed, drawing in a deep breath, using all his energy just to answer, "I saw goodness in you, so much potential. I also saw how much you loved us, that when the time came you would make the right decision." Winter was crying, "Please don't die Phil, you can't die!" Before he could answer, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw Megan, hair whipping around wildly, slam a hand down on the controls, sending Thor out of the helocarrier. Winter let out a scream, whipping around trying to find Loki. She saw him still on his knees, holding his head and staring at Megan. Winter stalked over and grabbed him by the hair, forcing him to look up at her. Before she could do anything else she felt intense pain blossom at the base of her skull as someone hit her with the butt of their gun. She fell to the ground as the world went black. Loki got to his feet slowly, taking his time standing up. With Winter out of the way he was able to regain control over everyone else. Except Barton, he had lost Barton. Picking up Winter's unconscious form, he carried her out of the room, his agents following behind.


	5. Chapter 5

    There was nothing but darkness. Winter could hear everything going on around her, but she couldn't open her eyes. Someone had blindfolded her, along with securing her arms, legs, and chest to a chair. It was pointless, since she could just teleport away whenever she wanted. But her thoughts were elsewhere, and she was bound in place by the weight of her anguish. Phil was dead, Thor was dead. Phil had known about her, about hydra. This was all too much for her to process, so she was glad for the time she was granted. She had no idea how long she sat strapped to that chair. Hours? Minutes? She couldn't tell. It felt like eternity, but it still wasn't enough to prepare her for when the doors burst open, footsteps filling the room. She tensed as the blindfold was ripped from her head, which still hurt immensely from the blow earlier. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the sudden light. Looking up, she saw Loki standing in the center of the room. Guards surrounded her, and she felt her anger bubble up, flowing freely through her body as she glared at Loki. He spoke first, "You completely ignored my warnings.” Pause. “Yesterday's outcome was completely your fault." Winter didn't reply, just continued to glare. After a moment, realizing she wasn’t going to answer, he continued, "I don't know what you did, but if it ever happens again, there will be consequences much worse than what you endured yesterday." Winter closed her eyes, fed up of looking at him, feeling around the room with her mind. She didn't know what she was looking for, but she could soon feel the presence of every man in the room. Picking one at random, she felt overwhelmed as her head was flooded with unfamiliar emotions and memories. Her eyes flashed open with a start, and she looked to her left, where a guard (His name was Jeremy) was on the floor, holding his head. She looked back at Loki, who was staring at the guard with disapproval on his face. Looking to the others, he commanded, "Leave. Now." And they obeyed, shuffling out of the room one by one, a few falling behind while helping Jeremy up off the ground. The door shut behind the last guard and then they were alone. Loki took two slow steps closer, leaning over and bringing his face right up to Winter's, searching her eyes. She did the same, looking into his blue-green eyes for an answer, a connection. She felt him invade her head, ruffling through her brain once again. This time instead of trying to push him out, she grabbed onto the connection, pulling herself out of her own mind, and pushing herself into his. She was immediately overwhelmed as foreign memories flashed through her mind’s eye. She felt his pain, his sorrow, his confusion. She heard him gasp at feeling so exposed, but she held on to the connection as he tried to pull away. She saw everything, his plans, his motives, his whole life. Everything was flashing by so fast, yet she managed to catch hold of it all, reliving every moment of his life as if it had been hers. _Am I ever going to get used to this?_ Finally, she let him go with great effort, waiting for the connection to completely die. She opened her eyes, face wet from tears she didn't remember shedding. Loki was on his knees, shaking. Winter wanted to apologize, but he had done the same to her, he deserved it. It must hurt him more though, his memories are a lot darker, a lot more painful. She felt pity for him, what he'd been through was awful. He looked up at her, face damp with sweat or tears, she couldn't tell which. She could tell that he was mad, but his anger was weakened with sadness, and he spoke barely above a whisper, "Did you find what you were looking for?" Winter didn't know what to say, "I... I didn't mean to...." Loki scoffed, "Of course you did, you just didn't know what you would find, you had no idea about the pain I've experienced." He paused for a moment, "I will admit I'm surprised, I knew you were strong, I just couldn't see the extent of your power. No one has been able to enter my mind like that. Ever." Winter forced her pity for the man aside, pulling up as much anger as she could, "It doesn't feel very nice does it." "It's not anywhere near as bad with humans, you barely know pain, your memories are a bright in comparison to the unending darkness of mine." Now it was Winter’s turn to scoff, "Oh come on, you're not the only one with a crappy childhood. I’m not the one who grew up in a palace." Loki was quiet a moment, before slowly rising to stand up. "Have you ever been tortured, Winter?" She raised her chin in defiance, "You know I have." Loki shook his head, "I mean really tortured, not that pathetic training they did with you." "You're asking if I’ve ever been tortured like you've been tortured." He looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "Yes." She answered defiantly, and he opened his mouth to object, but she continued, "You know I have. When I went through your mind I felt everything, it lasted only a second, and yet it felt like I lived through your whole life. I know exactly what you went through, I felt it as you did." He glared at her, "That’s not the same as feeling it for yourself." He looked so broken, like he was holding himself together with hate and rage, barely hanging on. "You're right, but I do know what you've been through, I've felt it for myself, even if not to the extent that you felt it." She paused for a moment, and he didn't say anything, just stared at the floor, calculating. "You don't have to do this you know," she said softly. He looked up at her, face set, "You know that I do. You know what will happen if I don't." "You're blinded by your fear, there’s a way out of this, a way for you to be free." Winter tried desperately to get him to understand. "You know nothing, you're just a child, naive." "And you're a stubborn brat, you have a family that loves you so much, stop this now before it's too late." He didn’t reply, mauling over the offer, “It’s already too late. They aren’t my family. Even if I did want to go back, I don’t belong.” This made Winter angry, “AT LEAST YOU HAVE A FAMILY TO GO BACK TO, PHIL WAS THE CLOSEST THING I HAD TO FAMILY AND YOU KILLED HIM.” She hadn’t realized she was yelling until the end of her accusation, and she closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down. “We’re both alone. Let’s do this together Winter. I won’t control you anymore, we can fight anyone who stands in our way. We can rule the Earth together,” Winter interrupted him, screaming, “RULE WHAT? I’VE SEEN YOUR PLANS FOR EARTH, THERE WON’T BE ANYTHING LEFT TO RULE! YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE TO HAVE ME ON YOUR SIDE, AND YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION AND WALK AWAY FROM ALL THIS. YOU BLEW IT. I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU ARE ROTTING IN A CELL, STUCK FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE HAUNTED BY THE CHOICES YOU’VE MADE.” He looked surprised, but he quickly reigned it in, an almost bored determination locking his features, “Very well.” The words had barely left his mouth when the door behind him opened, and two guards entered the room, dragging someone between them. Winter’s eyes widened, meeting Dianna’s scared gaze. She was shaking, face red from crying. “Winter!” She yelled, desperate for help from her friend. This earned a punch in the face from the guard on her right, and the other one shoved her onto her knees. Winter yelled at Loki, “Stop! Leave her out of this!” Loki just looked at her, “I’ll let her go, but only if you join me.” _How can he be so calm?!?_ “I can’t do that.” Winter tried to keep her voice level. The guard who had punched Dianna drew his gun from his holster, aiming it at her head and releasing the safety. Dianna squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered, tears running down her face. Winter closed her eyes also, reaching out to her friend. As softly as she could she slipped into Dianna’s mind, holding in any reaction so Loki wouldn’t catch on to what she was doing. _Dianna I am so sorry for dragging you into this._ There was silence for a moment, and Winter feared she hadn’t made a connection. _It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault._ Winter felt a tear escape, _I don’t know how to save you, I wouldn’t be fast enough._ She could feel Dianna’s fear, her resignation, and then her determination. _Do what you need to do._ Winter pulled back, opening her eyes to glare at Loki. He was losing patience, “You’re out of time. Are you going to help me or watch your friend die?” Winter used all the energy she had, teleporting out of her chair and behind Dianna, wrapping her arms around her friend as the gun went off.

 

 

***

 

 

            _She was eight years old, three years into her training. Since she had first discovered her telekinesis, Hydra had been pushing her to see if any new powers would show. After two years of general combat training without any progress, they decided to push her limits with the one power she did have. She had a pretty good grasp on her telekinesis, completing almost everything they threw at her. The one thing she could not do was stop a bullet. They had started with normal targets, firing from across the room, giving Winter plenty of time to stop it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t do it. The agent assigned to training her, Marcus, was nice enough when she succeeded, but if she couldn’t do something… he would get upset. If she was lucky Marcus would take his anger out on her. He would push her harder in combat training, or put her in the dark room for a few nights. But when he was really mad, he would make her hurt other people. Winter never knew who they were. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents? Traitors? Homeless men and women off the street? It didn’t matter. They were people and she did horrible things to them. Well not her personally, but she didn’t have the strength to stop Marcus when he tortured them. On this particular day, he was extremely frustrated. He didn’t understand why it was so hard for Winter to stop a bullet. “It’s too fast! Marcus I’m sorry, give me another chance!” She pleaded as he walked out of the room, returning with four other agents and an older man. Two agents secured the man to a chair, and the other two grabbed Winter, holding her in place. She was strong, but not strong enough to fight them off. The older man didn’t even seem to know what was happening. The life was gone from his eyes, his expression that of defeat. Winter began to cry, and Marcus walked ten steps away, aiming his gun at the man. “Winter, concentrate. I know you can do this… hopefully this is incentive enough.” And with that he fired. Winter tried to stop it, but she couldn’t, and the man slumped in his chair. Marcus lowered the gun, sighing loudly, “Bring in another.” It took three more tries, but Winter got it. The bullet, hovering a few inches away from the man’s head. He began to cry, thinking that meant his life was spared. Winter could barely see, sweat mixed with tears obstructing her vision. She closed her eyes, and when Marcus fired a second time, she felt out with her mind. She ignored the sound of the gun firing, of the man letting out a cry, and she stopped the bullet again. Opening her eyes, she saw that she had stopped the bullet a few inches from the gun this time, plenty of room between it and the man in the chair. She breathed out a sigh of relief, she had done it. This was short lived, as Marcus began stalking towards the man, holding the gun to his temple, “Let’s see if you’re fast enough to stop this.” He fired, and Winter didn’t catch it._

***

 

 

            Winter opened her eyes, Dianna’s lifeless form in her arms. She had caught the bullet, but not before it had ripped through her friend’s brain. She slowly lifted her eyes to look at Loki, all of her pain and anger ripping through her. He didn’t react, just stared back with that ignorant indifference that Winter hated. She lifted both arms, more for dramatic effect, and using her telekinesis she slammed both guards against the wall hard enough to crush their skulls. They fell to the floor and Loki raised an eyebrow, “A little dark for you, don’t you think?” “When are you going to learn that killing the people I love doesn’t work out for you?” Winter asked, pouring as much of her anger into the words as possible. She reached out and forced herself into his mind. _You can’t win. I’m leaving here with my friends, we are going back to S.H.I.E.L.D. and we are going to bring every force we can against you. If I were you, I would run._ She pulled away, gave him a vicious smile, and ran out of the room. She made it two steps before he appeared before her. _Projection or teleportation?_ She thought. _A distraction._ She felt him reply, before she was struck in the back by his scepter. The projection disappeared as she fell. She used her momentum to turn her fall into a roll, landing on her feet and standing up to face Loki. “Did you really think I would let you leave?” “Wishful thinking I guess.” Winter snarled. She teleported behind him, kicking the back of his knee. As he fell he turned around to hit her, but she teleported away. Realizing she was going to play dirty, he stood up, pulled out five projections of himself. They all began to circle her, and Winter struck out at random, trying to find him. Realizing that wasn’t working, she reached out with her mind, connecting with Loki. She could see from his perspective, and immediately lashed out to the real him, landing a kick to his stomach. It barely did anything, only made his projections disappear as they engaged in hand to hand combat. Neither was making headway because they were in each other’s minds. They knew what would happen as soon as the other person had thought it. Finally, tired of this game, Winter reached into his mind and pulled up his most painful memory. He stopped fighting her, shock covering his features as he relived the moment he realized who he really was, that his whole life was a lie. Using the distraction, Winter used all her strength to punch him square in the face, knocking him out. He fell to the ground, and she was trying to decide what to do when twenty or so guards turned the corner, aiming their guns at her. She could probably stop the bullets from this distance, but decided not to take the chance. She needed backup.  Pulling up the directions Dianna had mentally sent her, she teleported away from the hallway. She re-appeared in a dimly lit room. She found Natalie and Megan huddled in a corner. Upon seeing her they struggled to stand up. “Are you guys okay?” Winter asked, searching them both for signs of injury. Natalie replied, “We’re fine, just a bit cold.” “And hungry…” Megan added. “I’m going to get you guys out of here, alright?” They both nodded, but she could see questions in both of their eyes. “Where’s Dianna?” Winter didn’t know who had asked, but she did her best to keep herself together. “She’s gone… I couldn’t save her. Look, we can talk about it later, right now we need to focus on getting out of here. Would any of you by any chance know the exact coordinates of the helocarrier?” She got blank stares from both girls, who were still processing that their friend was dead. “No? Alright, I guess we can settle for the S.H.I.E.L.D. base in New York.” With that she wrapped her arms around her friends, holding tight as she brought them all away from this horrible place.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Upon arriving at the base, the agents there helped them immediately. They must have known who the three of them were, because they had given up the coordinates of the helocarrier without question. Moments later they jumped again, Winter collapsing on the floor of the ship, over exerted from the past few days. She barely remembered the sound of medics rushing in, carrying her away to the med bay, before she slipped into darkness. She awoke sometime the next day, both Megan and Dr. Banner running around the room checking their machine thingies. Banner noticed her first, stopping whatever he was doing and walking over to her bedside, “You’re awake! It’s about time, you’ve been out for almost 18 hours.” Winter went to reply, but only a choke came out. Megan rushed over, grabbing a glass of water from a tray and helping her drink. She drank the whole glass in one swig, and Megan ran off to refill it. “So,” Winter started hoarsely, “What happened?” He raised an eyebrow, “We were kind of hoping you could tell us. Natalie and Megan explained to the best of their knowledge, but you’re the only one who knows what really happened.” Winter nodded, understanding, “What happened here though? After Loki took me?” He shrugged, “Both Thor and I were thrown from the ship. Thor is alive too, by the way,” _Thank goodness_. “When we realized they had taken you, we did everything we could to try and locate you. Everyone has been working together, somehow getting along. Apparently we’re calling ourselves the Avengers now.” The very thing Winter had been assigned to stop. That mission no longer mattered, she would deal with Hydra later. “The Avengers?” Bruce smiled, almost embarrassed, “Yeah, kind of tacky” Winter smiled, “No, I think it’s perfect.”  
After thirty minutes of both Dr.’s fawning over her, they finally decided she was healthy enough to get up. They were all expected at the bridge for a meeting, so Winter tried her best to hide how sore she was, attempting to get out of the med area as fast as she could. Slowly they made their way, Megan close enough to catch her if she tripped. She wasn’t hurt, just exhausted. She hadn’t used her powers this much in years, so she wasn’t used to feeling this tired. It took ages, but they finally got to the bridge. Everyone was already there, Director Fury, Natasha, Clint, Thor, Steve, Tony, Natalie. Not Phil. Winter pushed the thought aside, _Nope, not ready to deal with that yet._ Everyone looked up as they walked in, Megan walked over to stand by Natalie, and Bruce walked over to stand by Tony. This left Winter awkwardly in the doorway, all eyes on her. Oh how she wished she could read everyone’s mind. Fury spoke first, “I’m glad to see you on your feet.” Winter smiled shyly, crossing her arms over her chest, “Thank you, sir. But I’m fine, I wasn’t hurt.” Fury turned to everyone else, “In case you haven’t figured it out, this is Winter.” Tony spoke up, “Care to tell us what exactly happened, princess? I mean, you were gone for three days, and you were pretty beat up when you… appeared on the floor with your friends, what went down?” She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, _where do I even start_? Steve saved her from having to answer, “She looks pretty shaken up, maybe start with something smaller. Winter, do you know where Loki is?” This she could do. “I know where he was when he had me, I doubt he’s still there, but you can check it out.” Fury nodded, “Good, now why did Loki take you? He could have just used his scepter to make you come on your own, why knock you out?” Winter took in a breath, “He was controlling me during the attack, but I fought it and broke the hold he had on me. He knocked me out because apparently I’m the only one who’s ever successfully broken the spell.” Clint raised an eyebrow, and she rushed to correct herself, “Well, the only one who’s done it on my own.” It was Thor who spoke this time, “How did you get him out of your head?” “I’m not entirely sure, when he killed… uh… when he killed Phil I got mad and pushed out with my mind. The connection snapped, and it seemed to really hurt him.” “Lucky, I had to have my head slammed into a railing to get him out.” Clint muttered, glaring at Natasha, who looked exasperated, “What?! It worked.” Winter smiled awkwardly, taking in another shaky breath. “Look, I haven’t been completely honest with any of you. I think a few of you know this, but I just want to put it out there. I work for Hydra. Well, I used to. They took me from my family when I was little. There was an experiment involving a drug called Corhtexiphan, and I’m the only one who survived it. The drug augmented my brain, giving me my powers. My main mission was to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. but after what happened with Loki, I realized I’ve been on the wrong side. I’ve also been hiding some of my abilities. Everyone knows I have telekinesis, but I also can teleport, control people’s minds, turn invisible, and as of last week I can read minds. I’m only telling you this because when Phil died I read his mind. I found out that he’s known the whole time I was working for Hydra. This didn’t stop him from letting me stay, and it didn’t stop him from caring about me. He said right before he died that he believed in me, that I can do great things. If you will let me, I want to fight by your side. I know I can help, and I want as much as any of you to stop Loki. We’re the best of the best, but we are also used to working alone. As far as I know Loki has moved underground, biding his time. Let’s not waste the time he’s giving us, let’s train together, strengthen each other’s weaknesses. When Loki re-emerges, we will be ready. As far as he’s concerned he has us broken up, and even if we did manage to find our way back together, in his eyes we can’t function as a team. It might be difficult, but if we can put aside our differences, work as a team, we will win this war.” Everyone was silent, and Winter blushed furiously. She hadn’t meant for it to become a speech. Tony laughed, “Looks like we have a new captain, Captain.” Steve smiled, “That was one hell of a speech.” Natalie and Megan were positively beaming, and Winter laughed, a genuine laugh. The first in a long time. Fury nodded at her, “You guys will start training tomorrow, Winter could use another night of rest. In the meantime we will be looking for Loki up here, you will be updated on any progress that we make.” It was a dismissal, and everyone started moving towards the door. Megan and Natalie came over, and Winter smiled, “You guys know where I can get some food? I’m starving.” “Are you kidding? I practically LIVE in the cafeteria, it’s this way.” Of course Megan would have memorized where the food is. Both her friends walked ahead of her, Winter struggling to keep up, motivated completely by her empty stomach. She was glad they weren’t helping her, when they babied her she felt helpless and weak, plus she had been through much worse than walking with sore muscles. They finally made it, and some of the other team members had had the same idea. The room was pretty much empty; Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Tony being the only others there. Nat and Clint were sitting at a table, already halfway through their meal. Had it really taken us that long to get here? Tony was taking the seat next to Natasha, and Thor was shoveling food onto his already full plate. The three girls found the plates, and walked through the cafeteria examining their choices. Natalie stopped at the pasta station, she had a weird fetish for any and all pasta. Megan chose pizza, no surprise there. Winter had a harder time, being extremely picky. She settled for a chicken wrap and fries, not exactly healthy, but that was the last thing on her mind. All three plates stacked with food, the girls stood awkwardly, not knowing if they should sit with the other Avengers, or on their own. The decision was made for them, Thor calling out “Winter!” gesturing her to come over, his deep bellowing voice filling the room. Winter took the seat next to him, Megan took the seat next to her, and Natalie sat next to Tony, trying hard not to stare. Winter was too tired and hungry to notice she was sitting with four of the hottest people in the world. Shoving fries into her mouth, she hoped no one would ask her any questions. No luck. “Sooooo” Tony said, dragging the word out, grabbing everyone’s attention, “You can read minds?” Winter knew the question was directed at her, but she didn’t want to answer, so she took a huge bite of her wrap. Undeterred, he went on, “Because that’s cool. Like really cool. A bit creepy, if I’m being honest.” Winter hoped one of the others would tell him to shut up like they normally did, but a quick look around showed everyone staring at her, waiting for an answer. With a sigh she put down her wrap, “Yes, I can read minds.” There, simple. Not hard at all. But of course, Tony didn’t relent, “What am I thinking about right now?” Winter saw Natasha lean over and whisper something in Clint ear, and he held back a smile. Not wanting to know what Nat had said, she ignored them, “Uh I could, but it would probably hurt you.” She hadn’t meant to make it sound like a challenge, but it had. Tony jut his chin out in defiance, “Do it.” With a sigh of resignation, Winter shut her eyes and felt for his presence. She found him quickly, and slipped into his mind softly. Okay, it wasn’t very soft, it hurt a lot. She flinched as his memories bombarded her senses. _Don’t worry about these, find what he’s thinking right now_. She pulled away from his memories, sifting through his past thoughts instead, until she found the thought he had wanted her to find. She pulled out of his head slowly, opening her eyes. He was sweating, but had an amused smile on his face, “Talk about a violation of privacy.” But there was no anger in his words, “I thought you could just hear thoughts like a voice, I didn’t know you had to claw through my brain.” Winter smiled weakly, “I told you it would hurt.” “So what was he thinking?” Thor asked, curious. This time Winter’s smile was genuine, “Do you mean the thought he wanted me to find? Or all the others he didn’t?” Tony froze, and Winter winked at him, “It’s okay, I won’t tell.” Natasha pouted, “Oh come on! Spill!” Winter laughed, “He mostly thinks about himself, any other time its science stuff or women. His brain is very messy, scattered.” Tony huffed, trying to regain his sense of superiority, “The mind of a genius is always scattered.” They all laughed, and Winter realized she felt genuinely happy. With everything going on, she clung to the emotion, not letting it go despite the circumstance she was in. This won’t last very long, might as well enjoy it.

***

The next day Winter felt infinitely better. Muscles still slightly sore, she groaned as she got out of bed. She couldn’t complain though, she hurt a lot less than she had yesterday. She pulled on her combat uniform, everyone was meeting to train together at 9:00. A quick time check revealed she had forty five minutes to eat and make her way to the training room. Winter grabbed her USB and her dagger, not knowing if she would find the weapons in the training room acceptable. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, rinsed off her face, brushed her teeth, grabbed her keys and left the room. After a few minutes she made it to the cafeteria. She quickly loaded her plate with bacon, eggs and potatoes, before finding a seat by herself. She hadn’t recognized any of the other agents in the caf, and wasn’t exactly feeling up to making friends. Her stomach was in knots, and though she was hungry, she had a hard time forcing herself to eat. Her nerves were going crazy, worry about Loki and his plans spoiling her appetite. She eventually finished her breakfast, and cleared her spot before walking towards the training room. Megan and Natalie wouldn’t be training with them. As helpful as they were, this was too dangerous for them. They were of much better use here anyways, and Winter was relieved they wouldn’t be in too much danger. She had lost Phil and Dianna, she couldn’t lose anyone else. She finally found the right door, and she pushed into the room confidently. Everyone else was already there; Thor, Natasha, Tony, Steve, and Clint. Winter being the sixth person, they had enough people for three pairs of two. Everyone picked a partner; Thor and Natasha, Tony and Clint, and Steve with Winter. They agreed to alternate partners after every break, to learn each other’s fighting patterns. Everyone found a space in the room, and Winter walked with Steve to an unclaimed section of the room. Everyone had agreed not to use weapons today, just hand to hand combat. They could fight with their weapons and powers tomorrow, today was just focusing solely on learning everyone’s techniques. Without so much as a nod, Steve came at her. She ducked under his arm, avoiding a punch to the face. She spun around him, turning and kicking out at his back. He turned, almost as fast as she was, and grabbed her foot in the air. He spun her, throwing her off balance, dropping her leg as she fell to the floor. He aimed a kick at her side, but she rolled away, standing a few feet away from him now. She charged first this time, aiming a punch at his gut. He dodged, and as she passed him he landed an elbow to her side, causing her to gasp. They were fighting pretty seriously, but if either got hurt the other would stop immediately. He hesitated, not sure If he had actually hurt her, but quickly shook it off when she aimed a punch at his head. They were pretty evenly matched, though she could tell he was stronger than her, letting her keep up with him. Time passed quickly, both of them sweaty and out of breath in no time. Everyone broke off for a fifteen minute break. Winter downed half her water bottle, before sitting down. She looked around. Everyone else seemed to be in the same state, exhausted but not hurt. The only one with a visible bruise was Tony, who was probably more used to fighting in his suit. The fifteen minutes passed quickly, too quickly, and before Winter knew it, she was standing across from Thor. _This should be fun._  
Four hours later Winter was exhausted. She trudged to the cafeteria to grab some food. Eating quickly, she dreamt about the amazing nap she would take when she got back to her room. Before she finished, Natalie and Megan walked in, grabbing plates of food and sitting down with Winter. Both made a face as they sat down, but only Megan voiced what they were both thinking,  
“You smell horrible,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “Yeah well you try fighting against the Avengers,” Winter replied, smiling. “It’s so sweet that you get to do that!” Natalie said, a friendly jealously in her voice. Winter laughed, “It’s cool until Thor lands a punch to your stomach. I swear I almost threw up on him.” Both girls laughed, making Winter smile. She really loved these girls. Her happiness became heavy, and she remembered just how exhausted she was. “Anyways, sorry to ditch you when you just got here, but I need a long shower and an even longer nap. I’ll see you two later.” They both nodded, saying goodbye. Winter trudged back to her room, not making it to the shower before her head hit the pillow.

 


	7. Chapter 7

The next couple days passed by in a flash. Each day the Avengers pushed each other just a little bit farther. At this point they had all figured our each other’s weaknesses, strengths, and fighting quirks. Winter noticed that all the men, except Tony of course, hesitated before throwing a punch at her. It was subtle, barely a second, but Winter caught it. No matter how much she reassured them it was okay to hit her, they still seemed scared they would hurt her. This just made her try harder to beat them. Natasha on the other hand showed Winter no mercy. After the first few rounds, ending with Winter flat on the ground, Nat offered her advice. “Don’t focus so much on blocking my hits, sure it’s nice to avoid getting punched in the gut, but it’s more important to stay on the offense, not the defense. You’re going to get hit in a fight, might as well learn to take it.” Winter nodded, though she didn’t exactly agree. She ignored Nat’s outstretched hand and got up herself. It took a while, but eventually they seemed more evenly matched. Thor on the other hand was going too easy on her. “I know if you fought me for real, you could probably kill me, but please stop treating me like I’ll break,” Winter had asked, and he just shrugged shyly, could Thor even be shy? “I’m sorry. The only other women I have sparred with are Lady Sif and Natasha. You’re so tiny, it’s not a fair fight.” Excuse me? “You don’t think I could beat you?” His eyes widened, “That wasn’t the intent of my words…” But Winter cut him off, “Look, if I was allowed to use my powers right now, I could beat you before you could call ‘Mjiolnir’, so yes, you are physically stronger than me, but the only reason you have been winning, is because we have to fight fair. In a real fight, there is no fair, so what’s even the point of all this? Sure we’re learning how to fight each other, but what use is that against Loki and his happy gang of alien soldiers? Loki won’t fight fair, his little minions won’t fight fair, so why are we fighting fair? I know we can’t butcher each other, that kind of defeats the purpose of ‘preparing ourselves for war’ or whatever…. But I think we should team up, all of us using our abilities, or strengths in combat, to fight each other. Have our own mini war in here, the room is big enough.” It had turned into another speech, I really need to stop doing that. A look around the room showed that everyone had stopped fighting and listened to her rant at Thor. Blood rushed to her cheeks, but she kept her head held high, ignoring her instinct to avoid everyone’s eyes. It was Steve who spoke first. “She’s got a point.” Clint spoke next, He talks? “As big as this room is, it’s not big enough for Thor’s hammer OR Tony’s suit. If we want to do this we should do it outside, less damage and more room for me to kick all your…” “Alright,” Natasha interjected, sensing where he was going and stopping him before he got there, “I think we should do it here, it could help us get better at managing the amount of damage we allow to happen around us as we fight.” A look to Tony, “No blowing things up,” Thor, “No smashing your hammer through walls,” finally Clint, “And please, don’t hit any of us with real arrows.” Tony nodded, “Alright that settles it, meet here at 9:00 tomorrow morning, refreshed and ready to get your butts kicked.”  
  
***

As Winter walked to the training room the next day, she couldn’t help the butterflies in her stomach. Sure, she had fought against everyone already, but never against a team. Never as a team. When she got there, everyone was already split up. Thanks for waiting. The first team was Natasha, Steve, Clint, Bruce and Natalie. Natalie?! A quick look around showed that Megan was on the other team, along with Tony and Thor. Assuming that was her team as well, Winter jogged over to their clump. “Megan, what the heck are you doing here?” Megan looked up from where she was holstering a tazer, “Director Fury thought it would be a good idea if Natalie, Dr. Banner and I were to train with you!” She laughed nervously, “Please don’t let me die out there, I can barely hold my own in a fight against a normal person.” Winter laughed, pulling her friend in for a quick hug, “You’ll be fine Megan, you’re a lot tinier than these guys so use that. If you come across Steve, take advantage of the fact that he will hesitate before he throws a punch at you. Clint is a good fighter without his bow and arrows, but you could probably keep up with him. Just avoid Natasha, she’s scary.” A quick look over at the other team showed Natasha and Natalie talking, they looked like they were getting along very well. Megan had looked over too, “That can’t be good. I’m going to be avoiding Natalie too, she could already beat me up, I don’t want to face her after she gets advice from Natasha.” Winter nodded, “Yeah, stay away from Natalie too.” She then turned and began to prepare herself for whatever this was. A war? That sounds a bit overdramatic. She made sure her USB was safely hidden, and her dagger was accessible. She didn’t plan on using it, but if the others started playing dirty, so would she. As it is she had the advantage, she could manipulate their minds, turn invisible, port away if need be. A confident smirk covered her features, but she quickly wiped it off as Tony called for their team’s attention. “Alright guys, you ready?” Everyone nodded with varying levels of enthusiasm. “Good. Our team is better than theirs, you’re welcome, so this should be a piece of cake.” Tony was wearing one of his suits, the face plate of his helmet open. Winter looked over at Thor, who was wearing what she could only assume was his full set of armor. He held Mjolnir loosely at his side, and Winter longed to try to hold it, even though she knew she could never lift it. He caught her staring, and gave her a tight smile before turning to Tony, “Do we have a plan? Or do we just attack? I’ve never played this game before.” Winter frowned, annoyed. This wasn’t a game, it was supposed to help them train as a group! Does everyone else think this is a game? That would be extremely awkward. Before she could torture herself further, Tony answered Thor, “I know this seems childish to you, but it’s actually a good idea. We need to learn how to work together in a fight, not how to fight each other.” Thor pursed his lip, “That’s understandable. I’m just not used to this type of training.” “Neither am I, but it’s one of those cheesy team building exercises that everyone hates, even though it ends up bringing the team even closer together.” Winter tuned them out, focusing on the other team instead. Steve looked like he was giving out instructions to everyone. It was hard to take him seriously in his uniform, though his butt did look good. Bruce was in jeans and a button up shirt, and seemed to be arguing with Steve, before Steve finally nodded and Bruce walked out of the room smiling. It made sense for him to leave, after all, he was only a fighter as the Hulk, and for him to turn inside the carrier was not a good idea. Natasha, Clint, and Natalie were wearing the usual combat suits, the same ones that Megan and Winter were wearing. It was so plain, and Winter was struck again by the thought that she should request something more unique.   
Using the last few minutes before the fight to pull her hair up, Winter began to doubt if this was a good idea. Someone could be seriously hurt! She reminded herself to keep an eye on both Natalie and Megan. They were both tough, but they could still get seriously injured. Steve’s voice cut through the room, “Alright everyone. Just to recap, we’re not trying to kill each other here. This is strictly for training. Work together with your team, and only dish out what the other person can take.” No one replied, just got into position at either side of the room. It was completely silent for a moment, before everyone ran forward on mutual agreement. There was complete chaos. Winter ran beside Megan, who was running at Clint. She quickly became invisible as Megan and Clint began throwing punches. Turning she saw Tony fighting both Nat’s, and Thor was fighting Steve. Thor seemed to be handling himself just fine, but surprisingly Tony was struggling. He couldn’t fly because the ceiling was too low to give him a useful amount of height. Somehow both girls were dodging his hits, but it didn’t look like they were on the offence, because there wasn’t much they could do with his suit. Winter ran over anyways, might as well help him out. She pushed Natalie out of the way of his blaster fire, both saving her and throwing her to the ground. She could help Tony fight and watch Natalie’s back. As her friend got up, Winter allowed her form to return, before the two began fighting. Barely a few seconds had passed when something connected with Winter’s back. She fell forward, rolling to the side. A foot slammed down where she had just been laying, and as Winter got up she raised an eyebrow at Natalie, who just shrugged as if she hadn’t tried to stomp on her. Clint, who must have been the one to kick her in the back, came at her again, but Winter ported away. She re-appeared next to Megan, who was getting up from the ground. “What happened?” Winter asked, helping her. “Nothing, I was fighting Clint, he knocked me down and ran off.” Winter nodded, giving Megan a quick look over to make sure she was alright. Finding no injury, she quickly ran back into the fight. It was now Tony and Thor back to back, fighting off everyone from the other team. Megan ran at Natalie, drawing her attention away from Tony, and the two began to spar. Winter kicked the back of Natasha’s knee, bringing her to the ground and squeezing in to stand with Tony and Thor. Hoping it wouldn’t distract them, Winter softly snuck into their minds. There wasn’t much going on except thoughts of fighting, ideas forming just before they would act on them. Winter kept the connection open, but pushed it aside for the moment. She had to focus because Natasha had gotten up and she looked mad. Winter ducked as Nat aimed a kick at her head, porting behind her and punching her in the side. It had little effect and Natasha turned, looking even angrier, if that was possible. Winter could teleport, but Natasha was fast, and quickly caught on to her pattern. Winter pulled out of her teams heads, and slipped quietly into the other team’s. Probably better to know what the other team is planning, not my own team mates. She pushed Natalie’s, Steve’s, and Clint’s thoughts on the backburner, focusing more on Natasha. She rolled out of the way even before Nat had decided to kick her. On her feet a second later, Winter fought Natasha easily, avoiding hits before her opponent could even make them. She tuned into Steve and Clint now, paying enough attention to hold Natasha off while still watching out for the rest of her team. They all kept fighting, and at one point Steve was fighting Thor next to her, and she reached her foot out to trip him, still keeping her eyes on Natasha. Moments later, who knew how long it actually was, Winter had Natasha pinned to the ground. A quick look around showed Steve on the ground, Mjolnir sitting on his chest to keep him down. Tony was standing over Clint with his blasters at the ready. Natalie had Megan pinned, the only one from the other team to succeed. On silent agreement everyone got up. Tony was grinning, “I told you we’d win.” Clint scowled, “If I’d had my arrows, you would have lost.” But it was obvious he wasn’t actually upset. The whole fight had been more fun than anything else. Thor helped Steve up, spinning Mjolnir as if it weighed nothing. This was nice, Winter wished things could stay this way. But that wasn’t possible. Loki is still out there, this wasn’t just for fun. The thought was enough to steal her smile. Steve took a deep breath, “That was pretty good. Let’s take fifteen, then we’ll make new groups and start over.” Everyone nodded, dispersing to sit down or get water. Winter found her friends, “You guys did great! I barely had to help you!” They both laughed, and Natalie said, “I could have handled myself.” Megan shook her head, “I couldn’t, I’m a doctor for goodness sakes! If Dr. Banner got to leave, I should have been able to leave too.” Winter smirked, “Oh come on, you loved it! You lasted a while against Clint, and I know how big of a fan you are. I’m surprised you were able to fight him at all! You’re practically in love with the guy.” Megan threw her arms up, “I am not! I just respect him, I think it’s really awesome how good he is with a bow and arrow.” Winter laughed, “Whatever you say.” She really wished this could last, that she could live a normal life. But that could never happen, Hydra had taken that option from her the night they had taken her. Don’t think about them right now, you can take care of Hydra after you beat Loki, save your anger for him. Winter sighed, her life was a mess. It wasn’t impossible to clean up that mess though, and with the other Avenger’s help, it wouldn’t be too hard. She forced a smile back on her face so that her friends wouldn’t become concerned. Break was almost over, and with a wicked smile Winter turned back to Natalie and Megan, “You guys ready for round two?”


	8. Chapter 8

When Winter woke up the next morning, she wasn't in her room on the helocarrier. She wasn't scared though, she barely even noticed it wasn't right. The room she was in was bright, the morning sun filtering through the window, it was oddly familiar, though she couldn’t place why. She slowly sat up, stretching before getting out of the bed. She was wearing pajama shorts and a tank top. She didn't own them, but that thought didn't strike her as odd. She wandered over to the door, it opened into an empty hallway. It wasn't exactly inviting, but it wasn't threatening. Plain. It was plain. The floor was cold, and Winter wished someone had given her socks to go with the pajamas. That was the only explanation, someone had brought her here in her sleep, given her pj's and tried to make her comfortable. She forced down any panic or anxiety, remaining calm. The end of the hallway revealed a room with a couch, a coffee table, and a window. Other than that, the room was completely empty. Winter decided to sit on the couch and wait, better for her captor to come to her. A few moments later, she heard a door open, then close lightly. Footfalls came closer, and she looked up to see Loki walk into the room, stopping and leaning against the wall. He was wearing light grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt, and his hair wasn't slicked back, it was a mess. _New look?_ He smirked slightly, and Winter sighed, "I figured it was you who took me." He raised an eyebrow, "Took you? I didn't take you anywhere. You're the one who called me here." _What?_ "I didn't call you anywhere! I haven't spoken to you since...." _Since that day you kidnapped me and my friends. Since that day you stabbed Phil. Since that day you shot Dianna._ Winter fought back tears, _not now, not here._ "You really don't know where we are, do you?" Winter looked up at him, he seemed genuinely curious. She shook her head, "I don't recognize this place, and I didn't call you, so stop playing games. Tell me where you took me!" He laughed, "We're inside your mind." _Okay was not expecting that._ "What do you mean?" He sighed, "We're both asleep, and you have the ability to connect with other people's minds. Your mind called out to mine, summoning me into your dreams." It was Winter's turn to laugh, "That is absolutely ridiculous!" Loki shrugged, _what a mundane thing for him to do_. Winter went on, "Okay, let's pretend for a second that that’s even possible. Why would I call you? And why aren't you trying to kill me?" He moved away from the wall, walking towards the other side of the couch, raising an eyebrow in question, "May I?" "Yeah, whatever." He sat down, "I'm not trying to kill you, because killing you here would just wake you up. I might as well take advantage of the opportunity you have given me." Winter waited for him to continue, he didn't, "Which is...." He smirked, "It wouldn't exactly be an opportunity if I told you. As for your other question, I don't know why you called me. Maybe you changed your mind and you do want to work with me." Winter shook her head, "Never." Loki shrugged again, "Suit yourself." It was quiet for a moment, before Winter asked another question, "And what happens if I kill you in this... Dream." He chuckled, "I wake up."  "Convenient," she muttered. "Very." He agreed. Winter sighed, "I don't like this, I would rather be fighting." She didn't look at him as he responded, "And why is that?" He was egging her on, he knew why she was angry, "You know why. You take away everything that has meaning to me, and then you come into my mind just to chat!" She was getting angry and needed to calm down. She stood up and began pacing the room. Was it always this small? "Again, I didn't come here, you brought me here." She whirled around to glare at him, "I did _not_ bring you here. If I had my way I would never see you again! You killed Dianna, and you killed Phil, two people who actually loved me in this world. Just because you feel like no one loves you, doesn't mean you get to steal love from other people!" She was crying now, she couldn't help it. He looked sympathetic, and made a move to stand up, but her shout kept him frozen in place, "STAY THERE. Do NOT get up.” Taking deep breaths, she began to pace the floor again. Yet another question formed in her head, "Why are you being so nice?" He shrugged again, "I have no reason to be hostile. It's not like any acts of violence would benefit me here." She wrinkled her nose, "Okay, but how are you so calm? Last time we were face to face I knocked you out." His eyes left hers, and pain flashed over his features, very slight but Winter caught it. He recovered quickly, "We were fighting, what you did was fair." Winter didn’t like how calm he was, he didn’t have the right to be so smug while she was pacing the floor losing her mind. "You've had a pretty crappy life, I always thought mine sucked." He scoffed, “The word ‘crappy’ is a bit of an understatement.” Winter rolled her eyes, “Don’t flatter yourself. Your childhood wasn’t even that bad, it’s not until _very_ recently that things started going downhill.” Anger flashed in his eyes, taking longer to leave than before. _There we go._ It wasn’t smart, but Winter needed him to hurt, to be angry. She needed him to yell at her, to give her an excuse to hate him. The anger left though, and it was obvious he was trying to remain calm. She waited for him to respond, but he didn’t, so she kept going. Feigning innocent pity, she pulled at what little information she had, “It is sad though… you only wanted to be Thor’s equal, then you find out you never had that chance. It wasn’t even something you could fix, you were just born of the wrong race. How is that fair? Then, you come up with an elaborate plan to kill the King of Jotunheim, and then maybe your father will see how fit you are to be King! But of course Thor has to come and ruin it, drop you off the side of the bridge into the abyss, right into the hands of Thanos! And as if you didn’t have it bad enough already, he orders some low race of disgusting creatures to torture you, break you. Finally, when he thinks you’re ready, he gives you an opportunity, an escape from the pain. Anything would seem promising at that point, you were that desperate. So you jumped at the opportunity. You probably thought it would be easy, you didn’t know Thor would show up, you didn’t know we would put up this much of a fight. Well now you know, and when we beat you, you’ll have the rest of your life in a cell to remember it.” She was being mean and she knew it, but she needed a reaction, proof she could get under his skin the way he got under hers. He stood up swiftly, his face tight, holding back both annoyance and anger. He was so tall, he only needed to take two steps to reach her. She fought the urge to step back, holding her ground. They glared at each other, and both of them shaking. “You’ve seen the army I have at my command, six people will not be able to stop them all.” Winter smiled, “You still underestimate us.” The room was slowly getting dark around the edges, if Loki was right and this was a dream, she didn’t have much time. He shook his head, “No, I just don’t have the naïve hope of a child. You’re so angry at me, you think that anger will be enough to beat me?” She didn’t say anything, just stared up at him. The black was closing in, she could only see him now. He lifted an arm up, brushing her hair out of her face, his voice barely a whisper, “We would have worked so well together, your anger is striking, with the right push….” His voice trailed off as he was consumed by the black, and everything went dark.

 

 

***

 

            Winter woke up disoriented, so nauseous it was almost overpowering. She fell onto the floor and dragged herself into her washroom, leaning over the toilet heaving. Nothing came up, and Winter slumped to the floor, shaking, and waiting for the room to stop spinning. _Never doing that again._ If she had a choice, that is. She hadn’t exactly asked for it to happen this time around. Once she could stand she quickly rinsed her face, and changed into her combat suit, not caring to make herself look presentable. She ran down the hallways towards Megan and Bruce’s shared lab. Bursting through the door, she saw Bruce wasn’t there. Natalie was sitting on one of the tables, watching Megan, who was typing something on a tablet. Both looked up when Winter came through the door, eyes widening. Winter’s brain was sluggish, she didn’t know what to say. The girls were watching her, expectant. “Uhhh… Megan! I came here for Megan.” Natalie raised her eyebrow, and Megan sat the tablet on the table, “What is it?” Winter couldn’t form a proper sentence, “I uh… I have a question.” Megan was patient, Natalie was not, “About what?!” Megan shot her a look, before returning her gaze to Winter, “Come sit down, Natalie get her some water.” Once Winter was seated, Megan continued, “What happened, you look like you’re in shock.” Winter tried again, “I uh….” But she was interrupted by Natalie returning with a glass of water. She quickly downed it, she immediately felt a bit better. Not much though. Both girls stared at her expectantly, but patiently. Natalie must have noticed this was serious. After a few moments, Winter figured she could maybe form a sentence, “I wanted to know… uh… is it possible to… you know… connect with someone during your sleep?” Megan looked confused, “What do you mean?” Winter sighed “I have the power to read minds, would it be possible for me to… share a dream with someone? Connect to their mind in my sleep? Or bring them into my mind?” Megan thought about it for a moment, “Well I’ve never heard of it happening, but with everything else I’ve witnessed I can’t say it isn’t possible.” But Natalie had caught on, “Who did it happen with?” Winter’s eyes widened, and she stuttered, “W-what do you mean?” “There is no way you’re this scared over a theory, who did you pull into your dream?” Winter couldn’t lie to her friends, no matter how much she wanted to, “Loki.” They both gasped, Megan saying, “That can’t be possible…” at the same time Natalie said “Are you alright? Did he hurt you?” Winter shook her head, “No, I’m fine, just a bit disoriented… we mostly talked.” Megan got up to retrieve her tablet, and Natalie nailed Winter with more questions, “You just talked? About what? Was he trying to recruit you again? What did he promise you? You didn’t believe him right?” Natalie was never like this, and Winter stayed silent, not knowing what to say. Megan saved her from having to respond, “Can you stand? Come over here I want to run some tests to make sure you’re alright.” Winter stood up slowly, walking over to the hospital bed Megan had gestured to and taking a seat. Megan stuck little pads over her temples, neck, shoulders and chest. Connecting wires to them, she helped Winter lay down slowly. She was tired, but after the night she had just had, she didn’t dare let herself sleep. Minutes went by, machines beeping around her, Megan running around checking each one, ordering Natalie around to help. No more than twenty minutes passed before the door opened and Steve walked in, along with Bruce. They both walked over to Megan, Bruce curiously checking the machines and Steve asking, “What’s going on, is she alright?” It was Natalie who answered, “She had an… encounter with Loki.” Steve whipped his head to look at Natalie, before his eyes settled on Winter, “What? Where is he?” Winter groaned, “I don’t know where he is.” Steve looked confused, “Well where did you meet him?” Winter tried to sit up, but Megan shot her a look so she laid back down. She muttered as quickly and quietly as she could, “In my head.” “Pardon?” Winter sighed loudly, “In my head, I somehow called him into my dream. We talked, whatever, I woke up feeling really disoriented and came to Megan for help.” She was sure nothing could really shock him anymore, and he just nodded his head slowly, “Did he say anything about his plan? About where he’s hiding?” Winter shook her head, “No, he seemed really relaxed, confident. It was infuriating. He wouldn’t tell me anything.” Steve stayed quiet for a moment, “We should tell the others.” Winter groaned, the _last_ thing she wanted was the other’s to know she was meeting up with Loki in her dreams. Bruce and Megan were discussing something quietly, and Winter couldn’t hear what they were saying. It looked like they were arguing, but Bruce said something and Megan waited a moment, before nodding tersely. She walked over to Winter, and began disconnecting the wires, “There’s nothing wrong, I think you just had a panic attack.” Fake smile. _Okay….._ Winter smiled back, hopefully more reassuring, “Okay, awesome. I’ll probably never sleep well again, but at least I’m not dying.” She pulled herself off the bed once Megan had finished disconnecting her from the machines. Steve left the room first, everyone following behind him. They were walking towards the bridge, _I guess training is cancelled today._

            When they got there, everyone else was already there. Their group moved to join, and everyone looked at Steve waiting for an explanation, “I found her.” All eyes shifted to Winter. Tony spoke up, “Well, where was she?” “She was in the lab, she had an incident with Loki last night.” That got everyone attention. They all looked at her, eyes curious. She crossed her arms, shifted her weight between feet. All confidence gone, she tried to come up with the right words, “Uhm, I kind of called to Loki in my sleep, and brought him into my dream. At least that’s what he said I did. We just talked, he didn’t try to hurt me.” Everyone looked alarmed, except Thor, he looked angry, “You can’t believe him Winter! He does nothing but lie and trick people. It is more than likely he pulled you into his dream, not the other way around.” Winter nodded, but she knew it had been her dream. She hadn’t realized it then, but it had been her house, the house she had lived in for four short years before she was taken away. This hadn’t been Loki, trying to mess with her head. It was completely Winter’s fault. She had called out for him, for some reason, and that thought alone made her shiver. _Why?_ The question had no answer. This was dangerous, she could _not_ allow it to happen again. Tuning back in to the others, she caught the end of Steve’s sentence, “… so let’s be ready, we don’t know what he has planned, but it can’t be good.” It wasn’t good, Winter knew what he had planned. She realized then that she had known since she had gotten back, but failed to tell anyone! _Crap._ This would _not_ look good. She was just about to speak up when an agent ran in, whispering in Tony’s ear. “Son of a…” Steve cut him off, “What is it?” Tony glared, “That spoiled brat is in Stark tower.” Clint asked, “Why would he be there? That’s the worst place to hide.” But Winter already knew, “He’s opening the portal….” All the attention was on her again, “He’s opening the portal for his army! Come on we have to go! Now!” She turned and ran before anyone could ask questions, and the rest of the team ran after her, getting ready to suit up.


	9. Chapter 9

Winter only made it halfway down the hall before someone grabbed her arm, bringing her to a halt. She whipped her head around, coming face to face with Steve. He looked at her warily, “How do you know he’s opening the portal now? Do you know where he is?” Winter nodded, her patience running out, “Yeah! He’s opening the portal overtop of Stark Tower! Look, I don’t have time to explain this right now, I forgot to tell you, my bad.” Tony was behind Steve, looking at her incredulously, “Your bad? That’s a big slip up, how did you happen to ‘forget’ where Loki was heading?” Winter’s face grew red, and she sighed, her patience completely gone, “We don’t have time for this, you can be mad at me later.” She ripped her arm from Steve’s grasp, “If you guys are going to keep accusing me right now, I’m going to leave, because Loki invading New York with his alien army is kind of on the top of my list.” Before any of the others could respond, Winter pulled up the location of Stark Tower in her mind, closing her eyes and letting her form slip away. She waited a moment for her disorientation to fade, before opening her eyes. She had ported onto the middle of the landing pad, perfect. She jogged towards the glass doors, swinging them open and walking inside. The floor was empty, and Winter wondered for a moment if she had been wrong. A second later there was a ding, and the doors to the elevator opened, revealing Loki himself. He was alone, and smiled upon seeing her. Well, smile wasn’t the right word. It was more of an angry smirk. She didn’t know what she had expected. A hug? An apology? Really anything to confirm that last night had really happened. He showed no sign that they had shared a dream, just kept that angry cool confidence wrapped around him like a blanket. He spoke first, “I’m disappointed. I was sure that you would have called your Avengers here the moment you got away.” Winter shrugged as he stepped out of the elevator, its doors closing behind him, “Yeah, that was my bad. With so much going on I guess I forgot. You didn’t wait up though, right? Or were you sitting in that elevator for days, just waiting for the moment you could make your dramatic entrance?” He practically snarled at her words, all humor gone. He lifted his chin, staring at her with a sense of superiority, and she snorted, probably trying to assert dominance. He ignored her, “And where are your friends?” His tone was ice. Another shrug, “No clue. I don’t even know if they’re coming.” He cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing, “You came alone. Why.” It was more a statement than a question, and as Winter contemplated her answer he took a slow step forward. She arched an eyebrow, “I came because I wanted to talk.” “This isn’t exactly a good time. We talked last night, and you made your choice. I have no other interest in what you have to say.” His tone was so indifferent, and for a moment, Winter was stunned. It must have shown on her face, because his smirk retuned, and he took another step closer, “No…” he stretched the word out, amusement and disbelief in his tone, “You thought last night changed something, didn’t you?” He was practically laughing, but his overall expression remained angry. Winter’s eyes were wide, had she thought last night had changed something? She didn’t really know what she thought. She set her face into an angry determination, trying to hide her embarrassment. There was no stopping him though, “I humored your ideas last night, your pathetic faith in me, your childish hope. I had no idea you were serious. You really thought you could change my mind?” He laughed, “So naïve.” Winter’s face burned, but she was more angry than embarrassed now, “I don’t know who you’re trying to convince. You keep forgetting that I’ve been in your head. I’ve seen every thought, and every emotion.” It was her turn to step forward, they were an arm’s length apart. They held each other’s eyes, a silent challenge. Her voice came out barely a whisper, “You can’t hide from me.” He just stared. Is this how it’s going to be every time we come face to face? Challenging each other until one of us cracks? She broke eye contact with him. He really was beautiful. He had fixed his hair, slicked it back to the same style it had been in when she first saw him. He looked a lot better now, a lot healthier. Looking back she found his eyes still on her. His face was hard, but his eyes were unguarded. Hope and discouragement battled inside him. He ignored both, settling on anger. Breaking his gaze from her, he stalked past her and out onto the lower balcony. Winter was about to go after him when she saw Tony drop onto the landing space. As he walked towards the door, machines came out of the walkway and removed his armor. Loki began approaching the other set of doors, acting as if he hadn’t just walked out a moment earlier. Winter let her form slip away, becoming invisible and hiding in the corner. The last thing she needed was Tony seeing her. As both men entered, Loki smiled, “Please tell me you’re going to appeal to my humanity.” Nope, that’s my job apparently. Tony walked towards his bar, his arms behind his back, “Actually, I’m planning to threaten you.” Loki began walking towards him, “You should have left your armor on for that.” Tony just shrugged, “Yeah. It’s seen a bit of mileage, and you’ve got the glow stick of destiny.” He gestured to the scepter. Loki looked down at it with amusement. Tony grabbed one of the various bottles of alcohol, “Would you like a drink?” Loki smiled, “Stalling me won’t change anything.” Tony looked up, his face a mask of innocence, “No, no, threatening.” He paused, “No drink? Are you sure? I’m having one.” Loki turned away, his patience was fading quickly. He walked over to the window, overlooking the city, “The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that. What have I to fear?” He turned back to Tony, expecting an answer. “The Avengers.” Tony said, like he was hoping to catch Loki off guard. Whoops, I already ruined that surprise. Loki didn’t react, and Tony continued, “That’s what we call ourselves. We’re sort of like a team. Earth’s mightiest heroes type thing.” He began pouring himself a drink. Loki smiled, “Yes, I’ve met them.” There was a laughter in his voice that Tony somehow missed. Tony smiled, his sarcasm finally taking on a hint of annoyance, “It takes us a while to get any traction, I’ll give you that one. But, let’s do a headcount here. Your brother, the demigod.” At that Loki looked away, glaring, as Tony continued, “A super soldier, a living legend, who kind of lives up to the legend. A man with breathtaking anger-management issues, a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you’ve managed to piss off every single one of them.” Loki smiled, his previous anger seemingly forgotten, “That was the plan.” Tony picked up his glass, taking a drink before replying, “Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they’ll come for you.” Loki growled, “I have an army.” And Tony didn’t miss a beat, “We have a Hulk." Loki raised an eyebrow, “I thought the beast had wandered off.” Tony shook his head, “You’re missing the point. There’s no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes, and maybe it’s too much for us, but it’s all on you. Because if we can’t protect the Earth you can be damn well sure we’ll avenge it.” Loki’s amused expression was gone, a much more menacing one took over. He began stalking towards Tony, and Winter knew he was done talking. She softly slipped into his mind. Loki calm down, don’t do this. He completely ignored her, not giving any hint he had heard her. Reaching Tony he said, “How will your friends have time for me when they’re so busy fighting you?” He raised the scepter, tapping it to Tony’s chest. It clanged off the arc reactor, and Loki blinked, before bringing it up to try again. When it failed, Loki’s forehead wrinkled in confusion, “This usually works.” Tony shrugged, “Well, performance issues. It’s not uncommon, one out of five…” He was cut off as Loki reached up, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him to the floor. He grunted, “Jarvis, anytime now.” As he was getting up, Loki grabbed him again, holding him off the ground by the neck. He was having one of his crazy fits, growling, “You will all fall before me.” Tony yelled, “Deploy!” as Loki lifted him higher. The panel of wall behind Winter hissed, and she scrambled to move out of the way. Tony said “Deploy” once more, before Loki threw him through the window, over the side of the building. Not a second later, one of his suits flew out of the wall after him, hitting Loki on the way out. Winter grabbed his arm to prevent him from falling. He whipped around, ripping his arm from her grasp and glaring at her. She took a step back, letting her form re-appear. Before either of them could say anything, Tony rose up, his blasters aimed at Loki. He hesitated, “Winter? What are you doing here?” She stuttered, “I uhm….” “She’s working with me now.” Loki finished for her, a smug look on his face. Winter’s eyes widened, “No! No I’m not!” but she could tell Tony didn’t believe her. She had too many strikes against her at this point. Without wasting anymore time, he shot twice, knocking both Loki and Winter off their feet.  
There was a moment of silence, before the whole building shook, a loud rumble filling Winter’s entire being. She sat up, Tony was gone. Dragging herself to her feet, she ran over to the balcony, looking up to see a hole in the sky, and creatures coming out of it. She dropped to her knees, tears beginning to pour down her face. She was supposed to be strong, supposed to be the best. Why did she feel so weak? Footsteps approached, but Winter’s eyes remaind glued to the sky. Strong hands pulled her up harshly, and Loki hissed in her ear, “Stay inside” before guiding her through the doors. After setting her on the ground, she watched him walk back outside, surveying the chaos and trading his regular armor for his famous horns and cape. She couldn’t stand this, watching him ruin every chance he had at redemption. She knew he could be good, even if he didn’t. Why wouldn’t he listen to her? Why couldn’t he see himself the way she saw him? When did I start seeing him as anything but a monster? She didn’t know the answer, just knew that she should probably leave him alone. He’s a grown man and he’s made his choice. She couldn’t drop it though, she was the only one left who believed in him, except Thor maybe. But Thor was the last person Loki would listen to. He hasn’t been listening to you either. Winter was so confused, this man killed her best friend, killed the man she thought of as a father. Even after everything he had done to make her hate him, she couldn’t shake her need to help him. One last try, if he doesn’t listen there’s nothing more you can do. Wiping away her tears, she struggled to stand up. Pushing the glass door open, she was assaulted by the sounds of war. Sirens, screams, explosions. There was so much noise. Winter stepped forward, towards the man who was the source of all her problems. "LOKI!" She screamed. It cut through the sounds around them like a knife. It must have been the way she screamed, because he stiffened, turning slowly to face her. The wind was intensely strong up here, so high in the air. It made his messy hair whip around his face, the face looking at her with so much anger and desperation. Neither of them said anything. Never breaking eye contact, he started walking, taking his time approaching her. Each step looked like it cost him a bit of his soul. Finally, he was in front of her, an arm’s length away. "Winter." He whispered. She pleaded one more time, eyes never breaking from his, "Loki you can stop this! It's not too late... I know it isn't what you want. You hate that this is what you've come to.... But this doesn't have to be you, you don't have to hit rock bottom before you ask for help, you can turn around now, find your way back to the light." There was so much hope in his eyes, but also pain. She could tell he thought that what she was proposing was impossible. He was torn between his call to madness and his longing to be whole. She waited anxiously, at least he was considering her words this time. Before he could respond his eyes shifted to the side, looking behind her. They widened, and he jumped to the side. He reached for her hand, but before he could grab it something slammed into Winter's chest. She flew back, feeling her ribs shatter in unison with the glass pane behind her as she flew through it. She didn't stop though, and kept flying back until she slammed into a stone wall. She slumped to the ground, Mjolnir resting in her lap, impossibly heavy. She tried to breathe in, but nothing happened. Looking up she saw both Loki and Thor running towards her. Before they could reach her, the world faded to black.

 


	10. Chapter 10

  
Loki masked a groan, pulling himself up from the ground. That man in the metal suit, Tony Stark, had fired at both himself and Winter, causing them both to land on the floor. He looked over at her, she wasn’t in any hurry to get up. He whirled his head around to glare at Tony, simultaneously reaching out to Dr. Selvig. Open the portal. He commanded, and not a second later, the whole building shook. This seemed to make Winter stir, and she forced herself to sit up, not the least bit graceful. She looked out the window where Tony had been, but the man was gone. She scrambled to her feet, tripping over herself as she ran towards the glass doors. Shoving them open, she ran out onto the roof, looking up. Loki stood up slowly, watching her as she fell to her knees, mouth open in shock and horror. He made his way over to her, watching as she took in what was happening. Was she crying? An emotion he couldn’t name coursed through his body. Pity? Regret? It didn’t matter what it was, he pushed it aside. It wasn’t safe for her to be out in the open like this. He quickened his pace, and once he was at her side he reached down, grabbing her shoulders tightly and bringing her to her feet. She was still looking to the sky, so he whispered his warning, hoping not to startle her, “Stay inside.” Her eyes dragged slowly away from the chaos above to meet his, and his breath caught. He felt off again, taking an immediate dislike to this odd emotion. He settled for one he did know. One he was familiar with. Anger. He dragged her inside, setting her down on the ground none too gently. Harsh sounds found his ears, explosions and screams, and without his consent a wave of exhilaration ran through him. The war had begun. He quickly went to grab his scepter, before walked back towards the roof, every step giving him more confidence. The Earth would soon be his. Unable to help himself, he traded out his new armor for his old, finding comfort in the feel of his helmet back on his head, his cape pillowing out behind him. At the edge of the roof, he stared down at the chaos unfolding. He grinned wickedly, he could have this all to himself, he didn’t need Winter. But why couldn’t he get the mortal to leave his thoughts? This girl was so weak yet so strong at the same time, it intrigued him in a way that he knew it shouldn’t. His smile was fading fast, but before he could think anything else of the girl, he heard her scream his name. “LOKI!” She drew it out, and he couldn’t help himself, he shuddered, his body stiffening. He threw all of his guards up, telling himself that she didn’t truly understand him, that she had no idea what he wanted. He was a monster, and he enjoyed being one. He turned slowly, almost afraid to look at her. She knew more about him than anyone, and that both thrilled him and made him hate her. When his eyes locked on her, he hid the sharp intake of his breath. The wind was strong up here, and her long dark hair whipped around her gloriously, but she didn’t seem to care. Her face was so open, so hopeful, and he knew he had to destroy that hope. The hope she had so foolishly placed in him. He began walking towards her, face set. But his determination faltering slightly with every step as her eyes clung to his. Once he reached her, he stared down at her, eyes never leaving hers. He couldn’t help himself, the raw emotion in her eyes seemed to drag her name out of him. “Winter” he whispered. Her eyes became more desperate, and he regretted it immediately. Why did she still think he could be saved? Her persistence was admirable but annoying. He hadn’t asked for her to care about him, she had invaded his mind, learning everything she could about his sorry life. She had begun to see him differently in that moment, he could tell. He had tried to push her away, even killing her best friend. It had momentarily deterred her pity, but it hadn’t lasted nearly long enough. What was this girl’s problem? Why couldn’t she see he didn’t want her help? Didn’t she see that he was happy with his life? Of course she didn’t, because he wasn’t. But he wouldn’t even admit that to himself. She opened her mouth slowly, before pleading to him again, "Loki you can stop this! It's not too late... I know it isn't what you want. You hate that this is what you've come to.... But this doesn't have to be you, you don't have to hit rock bottom before you ask for help, you can turn around now, find your way back to the light." She seemed so sure of herself, how naïve was she? But how long could he go on pretending these words weren’t true? Somewhere, he knew that they were, but his pride prohibited him from acknowledging it. She had been inside his mind, but she hadn’t lived through what he had, she couldn’t know how he truly felt. It hurt more than he thought it would, but he resolved right then that he would never tell her, or anyone, that she was right. He would stick to the life he already had, because that was who he was. He was about to tell her how foolish she was, harsh words forming together viciously, when movement caught his eye, and he looked behind Winter to the glass pane. He saw Thor’s reflection, Mjolnir raised. Instinct kicking in before his brain fully caught up, Loki stepped to the side, out of the way. Realizing Winter was looking at him and not noticing the danger, he reached out to pull her to him. Right before his hand grasped hers, Thor’s hammer slammed into her. She immediately flew back through the glass, only stopping once she hit the solid brick wall. She fell to the ground, Mjolnir resting in her lap. He began running towards her, without remembering when he had decided to. Her eyes opened slowly, looking to him, and then past him, before slowly closing shut again. He reached her a moment later, dropping his scepter and falling to his knees, trying to pull the hammer off of her. It of course didn’t budge, until Thor’s hand reached for the handle, pulling it off of Winter’s torso. Loki scooper her into his lap, turning her over to look for damage. He hissed, seeing that her skull was cracked open. So fragile. A thick hand grasped Loki’s shoulder, and he grabbed his scepter quickly before being yanked up away from her. Thor didn’t even seem to care that she rolled to the ground harshly, the oaf probably thought she was dead. Was she dead? He was whirled around to face his brother. He quickly corrected the thought. Not his brother. Anger bubbled up, stronger than he had ever felt, and he screamed at Thor, “LET ME GO! I NEED TO HELP HER, PUT ME DOWN.” Thor said nothing, just stared at him, confused and guilty, probably because the idiot hadn’t seen her when he threw the hammer. It should have been me. I could have survived the hit. He forced the thoughts down, only thinking of his anger and hatred. Thor didn’t release him, only said sadly, “I must take her with me, the healers here will know what to do.” It was true, Earth’s doctors could help her, but Thor wouldn’t be able to get her there fast enough. Loki screamed again, desperate, “YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO GET HER TO THEM IN TIME. JUST LET ME TAKE HER. YOU HAVE MY WORD THAT I WILL COME BACK.” He could tell Thor didn’t trust him, he had no reason to. Loki was terrified, he couldn’t lose her, she was the only one who understood. Thor must have seen the desperation in his eyes as madness, because his grip tightened even more. A quick look at Winter showed that her breathing had slowed even further, and that she was losing blood fast. He was desperate, so desperate. He tried to work out a plan, sort his thoughts. If he failed to conquer Earth and deliver the tesseract, Thanos would try to find him, to torture him for years before allowing him death. The thought made him shudder. But if he lost and let himself be captured, his death on Asgard would be swift. Either way, failing would result in his death. But winning, ruling Earth, would result in Winter’s death. She had always insisted that his life was important, that if he gave this up he would be welcomed back, but she was wrong, he would be killed for his actions. But if he lived knowing that he had let her die, the only person who had believed in him after seeing and knowing everything he had been through, he didn’t know if it would be worth it at all. He was normally so selfish, so why was he hesitating to save himself? Why was the death of one human promising a lifetime of guilt? Before he had really decided to do so, he met Thor’s eyes, pouring all the desperation he felt into his plea, “Thor, let me take her. I will take her to Earth’s doctors, and then come right back. I will tell you how to close the portal, I will give you the tesseract, and you can take me back to Asgard.” Thor’s eyes narrowed, he was beyond suspicious. To further prove his point, Loki threw his scepter to the ground with a heavy clang. Thor slowly loosened his grip, “Any tricks and I will kill you.” Letting go of Loki, he reached down to grab the scepter, but Loki payed no attention, rushing over to Winter. He kneeled beside her, rolling her onto her back. He placed his hands on either side of her head, and it took a moment longer than it should have to still his shaking hands. He never got this upset about anything. Closing his eyes, he felt for the faint thrum of magic that flowed through his body. Bending it to his will, he pushed it through his palms and into her body. Using it to find her injuries, he sucked in a breath. It was worse than he had thought. She was suffering a lot of internal bleeding, and one of her lungs was punctured by a broken rib. He didn’t have the power or time to save her himself, so he pulled her close, and whisked her away to the only place he could think of.

***

He hated making the decision instantaneously. As soon as they both reformed inside of the large aircraft that belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D. Loki ran Winter to the infirmary. He had luckily ran into no one on the way, and when he shoved through the doors he quickly ran over to an empty bed, gently laying Winter down in it. He whirled around, finding three nurses throughout the room, still and scared. He quickly yelled, causing them to jump, “Help her please! She’s dying!” None of them moved, just staring at him. Frustrated, he realized that as long as he was there, they would not help him. He was getting angrier with every passing second, but before he could plead with them again, perhaps a little more convincing this time, the doors burst open. He turned around as guards ran in. So he hadn’t slipped through the ship unnoticed, shame. The guards didn’t hesitate to attack, and all the nurses in the room ducked for a hiding place. Loki fought them off easily, they weren’t nearly as skilled as he was. He didn’t kill them, even though he should have. He just wanted to make sure Winter was safe and leave as soon as possible. Eventually the soldiers stopped fighting fair, and though Loki was still beating them, the twelve guards were wearing him down. Finally unarming them all, he decided that it would suit Winter better for him to just leave, he had already wasted so much precious time, it could already be too late for her. With one last look at the girl, he yelled to the nurses, “Please help her.” Before teleporting away.  
When he returned to Stark Tower, Thor was gone. He didn’t know what to do, with Thor gone he could probably get away, Winter was safe now. He could still win, the portal remained open and the Chitauri continued to flow through. He had promised Thor his surrender, but his words meant nothing. Now that Winter was safe he could see through the fog of his delusion. He hated how desperate he had been, how he had promised his life in return for her to just survive. Now that she wasn’t a distraction, he could fulfill his plan! A grin forced its way onto his face, he had saved Winter, saved himself, and would still win the Earth. He walked out onto the roof to survey the beautiful chaos he had created. It was short lived, he hadn’t been standing a moment before he was attacked. That creature, the Hulk they had called it, had come out of nowhere, barreling into him with a roar. They both went flying through the glass, Loki ending up sprawled on the ground after connecting with the wall. The beast moved towards him, but Loki was faster. He was on his feet a moment later, and halted the creature with his anger, “ENOUGH.” It was still mad, but it stopped, allowing him to continue. He was so fed up with this planet, with it’s stupid heroic protectors, with the stupid girl that he couldn’t seem to stop worrying about. This world had brought him nothing but trouble. That of course would change under his rule, but for now, he was annoyed. “You’re all of you beneath me,” He growled, his voice broken from screaming, “I am a God you dull creature. And I will not be bullied by an-“ His words turned into a gasp of surprise as the beast grabbed his legs. It was over in a blur, and he only had the barest recollection of being slammed into the ground more than once. How many time? He didn’t know. He laid there, stunned. After a moment he realized there was no air in his lungs, and he drew in a slow, painful breath. He was too shocked to move, and opted to just stay there until he recovered his senses. The beast had thrown him around like he was nothing! It wasn’t right, he was in charge, and he had the power here. Why couldn’t these pathetic fools see that? He closed his eyes, promising only to rest a moment. He wondered how Winter was doing, if the doctors had gotten to her fast enough. If she died he would never forgive himself. His thoughts were slowing, days without proper rest catching up on him. Struggling, he tried to move, anything to keep himself awake, but he couldn’t move. He started to panic, but even that emotion was lost as his thoughts slowed and his eyes drifted closed.  
He awoke with a start, not knowing how much time had passed. Nothing looked different, yet something felt off. He quickly recognized it, silence. That’s what felt so wrong, in the middle of a war, there was no silence. The explanation for his panic didn’t lessen the feeling, and as he rolled over, pulling himself up, he froze. Everyone was there, and by everyone he meant those pathetic Avengers. They had him cornered, the one named Barton even aiming an arrow at him. He could have laughed, but dread coursed through him as well. He was too weak to fight them all off. He managed a smirk, “If it’s all the same to you,” he paused, in taking a shaky breath. Stars that hurt. They stared at him cautiously, “I’ll have that drink now.” He looked to each of them, but they remained stoic. None of them looked eager to contain him, and Thor was the one who finally stepped forward. He pulled out a small contraption and Loki almost groaned. Of course the oaf had brought that with him. Very rare, it was a cuff to cover the mouth, taking away all ability to work with magic. He didn’t move as Thor secured the apparatus to his face, he was too weak for anything. He grudgingly let himself be led outside, barely staying awake as they loaded him into a jet. He almost felt relieved, almost. One thought nagged at him, something felt wrong, missing. Like a spot in his consciousness that was once filled with light, was gone. He had felt it right when Winter had closed her eyes. He had been too exhausted to notice it before, but now he was confident he knew the cause. That girl had been strong, but had inexpertly racked through his brain. Ever since then he had felt off, but only now that the feeling was gone did he recognize it for what it was. They had been connected, whatever Winter had done, a part of her consciousness had stayed with him. That must have been the reason for his delusion, he would have never cared about her wellbeing otherwise. He couldn’t help but feel the loss though, hollow and empty. Once seated and secured in the jet, he let his eyes slip shut, not caring what happened to him anymore. He had lost the Earth, and he had lost Winter.

 


	11. Chapter 11

There was nothing. No sound, no light, no feeling. It was disorienting. Winter couldn’t hold onto a thought. Everything she grasped onto slipped through her fingers like a ghost. She was losing herself, and there was nothing she could do about it. She didn’t know what was wrong, what was happening. She didn’t know where she was, why she couldn’t see or hear. She didn’t know what had happened to her. Everything was slipping away, and though she desperately tried to hold on, to form a single thought, it all kept being pulled farther from her. Slowly, she began to feel something, though her sluggish brain failed to recognize it at first. After a few moments, it finally clicked. It was the first thought that she had successfully held onto; warmth. She clung to it, holding on tight as if it was the answer to her current state. Along with the warmth, hesitantly, came light. Both sensations were dim, but they were something. They reassured Winter that she wasn’t lost, she was safe. It took ages, but suddenly the dim light was becoming brighter, and the slight warmth was a cozy heat. She began to feel something soft surrounding her, and as the comfort of her surroundings grew, so did a faint discomfort. She heard a faint hum, which began to grow into something of a roar. Her discomfort quickly transformed into pain, and suddenly Winter longed to go back. She wanted to be nowhere, in the dark, feeling nothing. Anything to relieve her of this pain. Anything. She could vaguely feel her limbs thrashing, hear the alarmed shouts of other people, and she shut her eyes tightly against the now blinding light. Every moment that passed brought on more pain, and she screamed. It was hoarse and pathetic, she barely even recognized it as her own. She felt a sharp pinch in her arm, and after a moment, felt a calming numb flow through her body, soothing her pain. Her body stilled, the noise and light receded, and Winter slipped back into the darkness.  
***  
Her eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the light in the room. The walls were white, the ceiling was white, her bed was white. The room was empty of people, except for her. Panic slowly rose, where am I? What happened? She moved to sit up, but found herself tied to the bed. Holding back a groan, Winter settled back down, waiting for someone to check on her. Only a few minutes went by before her door opened, and a nurse walked in. Her hair was just past her shoulders, and she wore a white lab coat. Too much white. When the nurse noticed she was awake, her eyes widened and she rushed over. “You’re awake! How are you feeling?” Winter went to reply, her voice hoarse, “I feel fine, what happened?” “You were injured pretty badly, cracked skull and broken ribs, it’s a miracle you survived.” Winter just stared, “How did that happen? Who are you? Where’s Phil?” The nurse stiffened, hand frozen where she had been checking the IV in her arm, “Winter… you don’t remember?” “Remember what?!” She was frustrated, she couldn’t remember this girl’s name, though she was sure she knew her. She couldn’t remember what had happened to her, everything seemed just out of reach. It was torture. The girl looked worriedly at Winter, before walking back towards the door, “I’m going to go get Dr. Banner, I’ll be right back.” Winter burst into tears as the girl opened the door, wailing “Don’t leave me! Please don’t leave!” The girl stopped for a moment, looking back at Winter sadly, before she door shut, leaving her alone.  
Winter quickly tried to calm herself down. She couldn’t panic like this, Hydra had trained her to handle any situation. The last thing she remembered was Phil coming to get her in the warehouse, but they hadn’t taken her forcefully, so how did she end up here? She hoped she hadn’t blown her cover, she would be killed if she didn’t accomplish this task. Pushing the thought away, Winter mentally went through her injuries. Her head and chest killed, and the nurse had said that her skull was cracked and ribs broken. What happened to me? Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. had figured out that she was working for Hydra and had tortured her, taking it a little too far. That seemed unlikely though. She may have been strapped to the bed but it wasn’t secure, it was only enough to keep her from thrashing. She could escape if she wanted to. But she decided against it, if they didn’t suspect her now they certainly would if she tried to run away. Her contemplation was interrupted as the door opened, and the nurse walked in again, this time accompanied by a man. He was older, around his mid-forties, and he looked almost hesitant with every move that he made. He looked at her curiously, before approaching her slowly. “Hello Winter,” he said softly, “My name is Bruce, you can call me Dr. Banner.” The nurse behind him started to say something, but Bruce shot her a look and she stayed quiet. Winter didn’t say anything, she didn’t know what to say. She had a hard time trusting new people. Sensing she wasn’t going to answer, he spoke again, voice just as soft as before, “Can you tell me what you remember?” Winter shook her head, wincing when she felt dizziness and pain, “I don’t remember anything! Phil found me in that warehouse and said he was going to give me a home! Where’s Phil! What did you guys do to me!” Tears burned in Winter’s eyes, but the doctor stayed calm, even though she could see a flash of panic cross his face. Bruce looked back at the nurse, and gave her a small nod, before turning back to Winter, “We don’t know what happened to you, we were hoping you could tell us.” It was a lie and everyone in the room knew it. “Why are you lying to me! Just tell me what happened! I want to see Phil, where is he?” Bruce sighed, “It seems that you’ve suffered some pretty major memory loss, we don’t want to overwhelm you.” Winter just stared, is this why everything feels so wrong? She held down panic, “How major….” Bruce sighed again, “I have to run some tests, but it seems to be about four years.” Winter gasped, the world around her beginning to spin. She tried to calm down, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening, the doctor had to be lying! She suddenly felt very tired, a heaviness travelling through her body, making her sink back into the bed and close her eyes.  
When she awoke next, there were more people in the room. Dr. Banner and the nurse were still there, but they were accompanied by three men, and two women. She didn’t recognize any of them, and recoiled back, trying to hide. One of the men noticed she was awake, and before she knew it everyone was looking at her with varying levels of worry. She didn’t say anything, she was too busy panicking and hoping all of this was some sort of sick dream. One of the men approached her slowly, “Hey Winter, my name’s Steve, how are you?” The words came out awkwardly, and Winter was struck with the thought that he probably already knew her, and that she probably already knew him. She forced a small smile, this whole thing was awkward, and she hated it. One of the woman stepped forward, “I’m Natasha.” She said stiffly, and the man beside her added, “I’m Clint.” It was slightly overwhelming, but Winter tried her best to remain calm. The nurse who had first found her introduced herself next, “My name’s Megan.” The girl next to her went next, her voice strained, “I’m Natalie.” These women seemed to be having a harder time than anyone else, and Winter wondered if they were close. There was one man left, and everyone turned to look at him expectantly. His eyes widened, “What? She should know who I am!” Bruce spoke up, “She doesn’t know any of us.” But the man laughed, “Yeah but I’ve kind of been a big deal for a long time, she knows who I am.” He looked over at her, and his confident smirk fell away, “You do know who I am right?” Heat rushed to Winter’s face, and she shook her head slowly. He seemed to really grasp the severity of the situation, because he added sadly, “Oh, well I’m Tony.” Everyone in this room knew her, and she didn’t recognize a single one of them. She hadn’t spoken yet, and she realized she should, “Dr. Banner?” She asked quietly. Bruce looked over at her, “Yes?” She swallowed, taking a breath, “Did you find out what happened to me?” He waited a moment, and everyone in the room turned to him expectantly. “I have confirmed that you lost your memory due to head trauma, what I can’t tell is whether or not it’s temporary. There is really no way to tell other than to just wait it out.” Winter let that sink in, this could be permanent, but it could also be temporary. She wanted to cry, “Uhm, can you tell me what’s happened in the last four years?” Everyone looked hesitant, but one of the men, Steve, nodded. “I can’t tell you much other than the past few weeks, but even that might overwhelm you.” Winter laughed harshly, “Well apparently I’m like 20 so I think I can handle it.” Steve sighed, “Well I do know that you have been training with S.H.I.E.L.D. for about four years, and that two weeks ago was your first mission. Technically Phil was only bringing you out so you could experience it all without any responsibility, but you left one night to try and complete the mission yourself. The man we were after was strong, and was able to take control over you. We took him in, but we didn’t know that he had a hold on you, or that you were even there. The next day, when his friends were breaking him out, he… killed someone that you loved, and you snapped. You were able to break free of his hold on you, but he was still able to take you and three of your friends. We don’t know exactly what happened when you were there, but when you escaped and came back, it was just you and two friends, he had killed the third. You were the one that decided we had to fight him, that we had to be ready. You made us train for days, until he struck. You got there first, and tried to talk him down, but he wouldn’t listen. One of our guys didn’t know you were there, and in an attempt to disable him, you were hit hard and thrown into a wall. It’s pretty patchy but that’s all we know.” Everyone was silent as Winter absorbed everything. It was a crappy summary, with so many holes that it only confused Winter even more. After a moment she had a few questions, “Who did he kill?” It was one of the other men, Clint, who answered, “He killed your friend Dianna.” Winter didn’t know who that was, and she felt bad about her lack of feeling, “Who else? You mentioned he killed two people I knew.” This time no body moved to answer, and with every second Winter became more anxious. Finally, Steve broke the silence, “He killed Phil.” It took a second for the words to register, she barely knew Phil, but she had already started to see him as a father, “Oh.” was all she could say. The weight of all this information was making her tired, and Bruce noticed immediately, “Alright everyone, Winter must be exhausted, lets give her some room to rest.” She was asleep before the door closed.  
***  
Something was off, but she couldn’t place what it was. She felt distant from her body, awake but asleep at the same time. Everything was white, there was nothing around her. Slowly, a room started to take shape. Two walls were white, but the other two were a translucent energy. There was a couch and a table in the room, but other than that it was empty. No, not empty, there was a man. He was sitting on the couch, staring up at her, his face blank. His eyes burned with emotion, even though his expression showed nothing. At once everything snapped into focus, and Winter almost fell over with the intensity of it all. The man looked at her, trying to maintain his expression of indifference, “You’re alive?” The question shocked her, was she alive? “Honestly, I’m not that sure right now.” He almost smiled, but kept it reigned in. This man seemed to know her, but she had no idea who he was. He tried to look annoyed, “What are you doing here?” Winter shrugged, “Again, I’m not sure. I have no idea who you are or how I got here…” His eyes widened a fraction, the only indication of any reaction to her words, “What do you mean?” She sighed, “Well apparently I hit my head really hard, lost my memory of the last four years. The doctor doesn’t know if it’s permanent or temporary. So I have no idea if you’re a stranger, but you seem to know me.” He looked appalled, or as appalled as he could look while keeping a straight face. He stayed quiet a moment, thinking, before gesturing for her to come over. She stayed still, she didn’t know who this man was or what he wanted. This time his annoyance was real, “Come here I need to check something.” When she remained still, he stood up, walking over to her. She had meant to take a step back but he was too fast. He reached out and put his hands on both sides of her head, closing his eyes. A weird tingle rushed through her head, but it was faint. It was gone a second later, and he pulled away, eyes opening slowly to look at her, “It’s permanent.” He said softly, it like it was his fault. She turned away, not wanting him to see how much those words stung. She was never going to get the past four years back. People could tell her what happened, but she would never know for sure, never know any details. A second later she began crying, and before she knew it she was on the ground sobbing. She never cried, so she didn’t know what to do, she just let it overtake her. After many long minutes, the tears slowed to a stop, and she was laying on the ground, staring at the wall blankly. The man’s voice startled her from her daze, “Are you done?” Irritation flared up inside her, and she sat up to glare at him, “I’ve just lost four years of my life, I’m sorry if that’s a bit overwhelming.” He smirked, and her irritation was turning into anger, “Who are you anyways, you act like you know me, but I can’t imagine being friends with someone like you.” If he was hurt he didn’t show it, “My name is Loki. You tried to save me but I still ended up here. You may have been naïve, but you were right about one thing, they didn’t kill me. No, they only sentenced me to life in this cell.” His name didn’t ring any bells, but the cell... She looked around, just noticing now that it was indeed a cell. If she had got him sentenced…. That made him…. “You…” she said, eyes finding his, “You killed Phil… you got me hurt… you’re the reason I lost my memory!” She was really mad now, and his lack of emotion was angering her further. He scoffed, “It wasn’t my fault, Thor shouldn’t have thrown Mjolnir without ensuring that no one else was around.” The statement only confused her further, and he must have noticed because he sighed, exasperated, “It wasn’t my fault.” She didn’t believe him, “I don’t know where I am, but I want to go back, take me back!” He shook his head, “I didn’t bring you here.” She almost screamed with frustration. She closed her eyes, hoping she could wish herself back home. Slowly, she began to feel dizzy. Opening her eyes she saw that everything around her was losing focus. Loki noticed, and waited a moment, before meeting her eyes with such intensity she almost gasped, “I can get your memories back.” She wanted to respond, but she couldn’t. Everything faded to a blinding light, before the light vanished, leaving Winter consumed in darkness.  



End file.
